


To All The College Boys I've Loved Before

by Morganatique9



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: AU, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Probably a little tiny bit angsty at some point?, Romantic Comedy, Slow Burn, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 53,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25219672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morganatique9/pseuds/Morganatique9
Summary: Annie Edison has always been the romantic kind of girl. Whenever she felt something strong, she would always put it into words. Write it down.She wrote letters that were never meant to be sent. But someday, they are accidentally mailed. And that's when trouble begins.AU based on the books/movies To All The Boys I've Loved Before, sets in the Community world, during Season 4.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger, Mention of Troy/Annie but not an actual pairing, Troy Barnes/Britta Perry
Comments: 126
Kudos: 154





	1. The secret box.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I came up with this idea to make up for my angsty coma story haha
> 
> This story is obviously inspired by the books "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" by author Jenny Han. It will set in a AU Season 4, and will mainly focus on Annie's perspective.
> 
> There will be mentions of Annie's crush on Troy, but ultimately, the main relationship will be Jeff and Annie. It will also mention Troy and Britta's dating in Season 4, for the purpose of the story.
> 
> This first chapter is to set the mood, so to speak. I hope you'll enjoy it, don't hesitate to leave a comment to let me know what you think!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Skitzer1985 for helping me brainstorm this one out!

**_ Chapter 1: The secret box. _ **

Annie Edison walked out of her history test feeling perfectly confident. The night before, Troy and Abed had helped her study, thereby, she was positive she did great on the test. At lunch, in the cafeteria, they were serving chicken nuggets and fries. It was definitely going to be a good day.

Once she set foot in the cafeteria, she grabbed a tray, chose some food and beverages, and she walked to the booth Abed and Troy were already sitting at. She sat down in front of them and noisily dropped her tray on the table to catch their attention.

“Hello, boys.” Annie gleefully exclaimed.

“Hi again, we already saw each other this morning.” Abed answered plainly.

“You know, because we live together.” Troy added.

“Right. So how did you do on the history test, guys?” Annie asked before starting to eat.

“I don’t know, it was pretty hard.” Troy sighed, pouting.

“We studied together last night, Troy!” Annie recalled him, surprised.

“To be frank, you’re the one who did most of the studying.” Troy laughed.

“Well, I’m sure you both benefitted from my studying.” Annie smiled.

Annie was in a very good mood today. There was nothing that could possibly kill that good mood, she was certain of it.

Living with Troy and Abed was most definitely one of the best things that could have happened to her. Sure, it wasn’t always easy. At first, she even regretted it, almost. After all, they preferred turning her potential room into the Dreamatorium and expected her to sleep behind some curtains in a corner of the living-room. But now, everything worked for the better. She had to put up with them, sometimes, but she had to admit, living with Troy and Abed was fun. Enacting some _Inspector Spacetime_ scenarios in the Dreamatorium wasn’t all that bad. It could be funny, even. Except when they had to study for a huge test, of course.

Britta and Shirley eventually joined them. Britta didn’t hesitate and sat next to Troy before grabbing his face and kissing him tenderly.

“Right, sometimes, I forget your pairing became canon this season.” Abed casually said before chewing on his fries.

“How did you do on the history test, babe?” Britta asked Troy while he put his arm around her shoulders.

“We were just talking about it with Annie and I don’t think I nailed it.” Troy grinned.

“And Annie also said that the three of us studied last night so it should be fine.” Annie added before winking at Britta.

“You guys don’t even know how lucky you are to study with Annie.” Britta sighed, winking at Annie too.

“Well, since everyone’s asking, I believe I did great on that test too, thanks.” Shirley said in a soft voice, even though she sounds miffed.

“Jeff and Pierce are still taking the test?” Annie then asked, frowning.

“From the looks of it, they were having a pretty rough time.” Britta shrugged.

A few moments later, Jeff and Pierce slowly walked up to their friends, trays in hands. Pierce sat down on Britta, Troy and Abed’s bench while Jeff sat down next to Annie and Shirley.

“Well, that was definitely not one of my finest moments back there.” Jeff mumbled before eating his fries up.

“He’s talking about the title of his sex-tape, obviously.” Pierce laughed, waiting for the others to do the same, which they didn’t.

“At least, now it’s done and we can enjoy this delicious college food.” Britta ironically said, making Troy chuckle.

“Jeff, you should really let me help you study next time.” Annie told Jeff, affected by the defeated look on his face.

“As much as I appreciate your concern, Annie, I think our study group sessions already fill most of my time off, I’m not particularly eager to add some more to my schedule.” Jeff honestly retorted.

“What else do you want to do in your time off anyway? We’re your only friends.” Britta teased Jeff.

“Unlike what you all seem to think, I am a very social man, Britta.” Jeff asserted while Pierce and Troy quietly guffawed. “I go to the gym, I go jogging, I go on dates with gorgeous women…”

“It looks like you’re just listing some things that happen in your dreams.”

“Well, believe what you want but my life is awesome and I intend to keep it that way.”

Jeff didn’t notice it because he was busy eyeing a pretty teacher across the room but Annie had her eyes locked on him. It was like this most of the time. Jeff never noticed Annie’s lingering looks. He wasn’t even interested in noticing. To him, Annie was just a college girl, a younger college girl, with whom he occasionally studied.

Eventually, Annie took her eyes off Jeff and started quietly observing Britta and Troy. Mostly Troy. Annie had a huge crush on Troy when she was in high school, senior year. She still had a crush on him when they ended up in the same community college and in the same study group. But much to her disappointment, he never reciprocated her feelings. So, with time, she started moving on. Even so, seeing him all gluey and kissy with Britta wasn’t necessarily easy for her. But she made it so she would get used to it, and eventually, stopped caring for good.

That afternoon, when she went home with her roommates, Troy and Abed, the first thing Annie did was locking herself in her room and getting on her knees to grab something hidden under her bed. She sat on the edge of her bed, holding a purple, sparkly, heart-shaped box in her hands. She was reluctant to open it again. What was sealed inside it was supposed to stay sealed. But without being able to understand why, she felt the overwhelming need to open it again. One last time.

***

Annie wandered around the living-room to the smell of buttered noodles coming from the kitchen. Troy and Abed were already in their pajamas, arguing about what movie to watch while eating. Annie sat down next to them to join the conversation.

“Annie, help us settle this. Pick one.” Abed asked her, holding a DVD in each hand.

“Hum… I guess I would pick ‘Gladiator’?” Annie exclaimed, rising her voice at the end.

“Damn it.” Troy sighed, looking disappointed.

“Cool cool cool.” Abed said while putting the DVD in the DVD player.

“I thought Britta was coming over tonight, Troy?” Annie eventually asked Troy while they started eating in front of the TV.

“Something came up, apparently.” Troy shrugged. “She’ll come over tomorrow, I guess.”

“Oh, I hope everything is okay.” Annie said, wondering what could have happened to Britta.

“She seemed fine on the phone. I still don’t get why she’d rather call than text but I guess I’m fine with it.”

“You look upset, Annie.” Abed suddenly pointed out.

“Huh? No, I’m okay.” Annie stammered, startled by Abed’s remark. “Just tired, maybe.”

“Does it have something to do with the secret box under your bed?”

Annie let out a shocked squeal, to which even Troy widened his eyes. Abed, on the other hand, just looked like his usual self, as if he hadn’t just make a significant reveal.

“Abed, I thought we went over this, you need to respect my privacy and my boundaries.” Annie exclaimed, utterly shocked. “And respecting my privacy means not going through my things!”

“I didn’t go through your things, you door was opened this morning and I happened to see it.” Abed plainly retorted. “I assumed it was something important.”

“Well… That is absolutely none of your business and I don’t want you to ever mention it again!”

Annie stood up and stormed out of the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her. Troy and Abed shared a puzzled look, but eventually shrugged Annie’s weird behaviour off and finished up their meal while watching _Gladiator_.

***

Three days went by after Annie’s storm off and she still hadn’t talked to Troy or Abed again. She felt betrayed and upset that Abed so casually mentioned her box in a random conversation. It was her private life and she wasn’t comfortable with it being exposed like this.

It was Friday morning, and Annie wasn’t so happy about not going to class over the weekend. She still intended to avoid her roommates until she felt like talking to them again, therefore, she started writing ideas down in her favourite fluffy notebook regarding the possible things she could do outside the apartment this weekend.

Annie was peacefully walking in the hallways to get to her next class when, suddenly, Jeff appeared out of nowhere in front of her. She flinched a little but quickly composed herself.

“Jeff, I already told you, don’t startle me like this, I used to live in a terrible neighbourhood, sometimes I can have weird instincts…” Annie exclaimed.

“What the hell is this, Annie?” Jeff just asked seriously.

Annie frowned at Jeff’s harsh voice, especially because she didn’t understand what was going on with him. It was only a few seconds later that she noticed Jeff holding a letter in his hand. A pink letter written by a purple pen.

“What…” Annie muttered, distressed.

She felt like the world started spinning around her. She couldn’t take her eyes off the letter, and yet, Jeff was trying everything he could to get her attention.

“I’m not mad, Annie, I just want to know why you would send something like this to me.” Jeff calmly told her. “I thought we went over this last year, I already told you, I wish I could give you an answer that made sense to your questions, but I’m pretty sure sending me a love letter won’t really help me figure it out –”

“I’m going to throw up.” Annie interrupted him.

Annie didn’t give Jeff a chance to say anything else and she ran to the girls’ bathroom. She locked herself in a bathroom stall and tried to calm herself down and breathe normally again.

This was a total nightmare. Jeff had read the letter she had written to him the summer between their kiss at the Transfer dance and their second year of community college. The letter she had never sent because she never planned on him to read it. The letter that aimed to write her feelings away once and for all, and move on. The letter that was amongst three other letters sealed in the box under her bed.

If it was sealed in her box, how the hell did Jeff got that freaking love letter? And most of all, did it mean the three other letters got sent away too?

Annie felt dizzy, got out of the bathroom stall and passed out before being able to leave the girls’ bathroom.


	2. Fundamentals of love confession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys will enjoy this new chapter! I'm really excited about planning out this story, I won't have much time in the following days to write as fast as I used to with my previous fic but I'll do my best anyway.
> 
> Don't hesitate to let me know what you think in the comments :)
> 
> (Also, thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel, as usual, these guys inspire me to write every day)

**_ Chapter 2: Fundamentals of love confession _ **

Annie woke up with one of the worst headaches she ever had. It was even worse than the time she drank way too much wine confidently with Britta and Shirley to prove to them she was no longer a clueless teenage girl.

Annie carefully looked around her, still a little groggy. There was a blinding light right above her head that intensified her headache. She squinted, moaning a little as she straightened up. Only then, she realized she was lying in a bed. She tried to get acquainted with her surroundings as fast as she could. She was definitely not in her room back at Apartment 303. So, where was she?

Annie turned her head to her left, which left an unpleasant buzzing sound in her ears. She managed to recognize a poster on the wall. It was an awareness advertisement about preventing STDS. Annie moaned yet another time. Her head hurt her so much.

“Good to have you back, young lady.”

Annie tried widening her eyes to catch a glimpse of the silhouette who just said these words. Eventually, she identified the college’s doctor. She was in Greendale’s infirmary.

“You may want to slow down here, you had a pretty nasty fall earlier. Lucky for you, some fellow students caught you before your head could hit the ground, otherwise, you could have hurt yourself badly.”

Annie frowned, confused by the doctor’s explanation. When did she even fall? She tried piecing it all together in her head, before looking at the other end of the room and seeing Jeff standing still, arms crossed on his chest, quietly observing her. And suddenly, she remembered everything that had happened before she passed out in the bathroom.

“Oh no.” Annie muttered, trying to get up.

“What did I just say?” The doctor exclaimed, making her lie down gently. “You’re still a little buzzed from your fall, you need to wait a few minutes before getting back up.”

“I… I have to go, I have to study for a test.” Annie lied, freaking out because of Jeff’s presence.

“I’m sure your test can wait.” The doctor sympathetically smiled. “Well, your friend right here was very concerned about you, so I’ll leave you to it just a few minutes.”

Annie almost wanted to beg the doctor to stay with them in the room, but unfortunately, he was already on his way out before the words could even come out of her mouth. After the door slammed closed, an oppressing silence filled the room, and Annie didn’t even dare to look at Jeff again.

“This is a dream.” Annie said to herself while Jeff got closer to her. ”I’m obviously dreaming, I must be sleeping right now and soon, I’ll wake up and it will just be an awkward memory.”

“Annie, it’s fine. I told you, I’m not mad, I just want to talk.” Jeff gently said.

Annie looked at him, standing on her right. He looked genuinely concerned and Annie hated that. He was obviously thinking she was an insane, hopeless little girl and she didn’t want him to. Her letters were private. He should have never read his. She felt like her privacy had been violated.

“When did you write that letter?” Jeff asked with a sad look on his face.

“It’s none of your business.” Annie blurted out, carefully avoiding eye-contact.

“It’s obviously a lot of my business since the letter is addressed to me.” Jeff smiled.

“No, it’s not. It was for me, you were never supposed to read it.”

“Then how did it get in my mailbox this morning?”

“I don’t know, okay? Someone must have stolen them and mailed them, I don’t know why, this doesn’t make any sens –“

“I’m sorry.” Jeff interrupted her, looking reflective. “What do you mean by ‘them’?”

Annie stayed silent and just stared at a weird stuffed animal across the room. Suddenly, she couldn’t take it anymore and she stood up at once. She folded her skirt attentively to forget about the fact that her head was spinning dangerously fast from the moment she got up.

“There are other letters?” Jeff asked, sounding astonished.

“Sorry to break it to you Jeff but you’re not the only man I felt attracted to in my life.” Annie sarcastically said, trying to compose herself.

“Who else got a letter?”

“I’m not sure. There were four letters, but maybe yours is the only one who got mailed. I don’t even know why it got mailed in the first place. What’s happening is straight up cuckoo bananas.”

“Well, then, who else did you write a letter to?”

“Again, none of your business.”

Jeff scoffed and scraped his neck. Annie felt like he was very amused by the situation and it annoyed her right away.

“Now, give it back to me, please.” Annie urged, stretching her arm in Jeff’s direction. “I actually have a test to study for and this is making me lose a precious amount of time.”

“Giving it back to you? No way, I’m keeping it. I hadn’t gotten any love letters since high school, I’m holding on to that one.” Jeff teased with an annoying smirk.

“I wasn’t asking for your permission, Jeff.”

“What do you need it for anyway? Obviously, you’ve written this a couple of years ago already, I’m sure you’re not feeling the same way anymore.”

Annie didn’t answer quite immediately and tilted her head on her side, nervously replacing a lock of hair behind her ear. Jeff was definitely not aware of the long lingering looks she could throw at him sometimes.

“I just… I don’t remember exactly what I wrote, so I want to see it again.” Annie made up in a high-pitched voice.

“Liar.” Jeff smirked. “I know you, Annie Edison, there’s no way you wrote an insanely well-written love letter and you don’t remember what it says. Don’t sweat it, I’m keeping it.”

“Ugh, you’re such a jerk, Jeff!” Annie exclaimed disapprovingly. “It’s not nice to make fun of people’s feelings!”

“I will never dare making fun of you, for two obvious reasons. The first one? I would never be able to write something this good, you are a very talented writer. And the second one? This is adorable as hell, I really liked the tiny paper-heart you glued next to my name in the beginning.”

“Ugh!!”

Annie gave Jeff a light punch in the arm, to which he laughed. She spotted her backpack on a chair next to the bed, she grabbed it and immediately stormed out of the infirmary.

At first, she was straight up mortified about her love letter to Jeff being read by him. Now, she was just furious. Her head was still spinning but it didn’t stop her from hurrying along the hallways of Greendale to head towards the study room. As she thought, Abed was already here, quietly sitting in his usual spot, watching a movie on his portable DVD player.

“You!” Annie yelled, pointing her finger accusingly at him.

Abed took his headphones off and stared innocently at Annie.

“Hi, Annie.” Abed calmly greeted her.

“Are you seriously going to pretend like there’s nothing going on here?” Annie hollered, her chest reddened with anger.

“Well, I guess so, because there’s actually nothing going on here.” Abed shrugged. “I was just watching _Mad Men_ while waiting for our next study session.”

“Oh so you’re going to tell me you didn’t do anything wrong or immoral these past few days, huh?” Annie sarcastically exclaimed. “Like, I don’t know, maybe not respecting your roommate’s boundaries?? You didn’t do anything like that?”

“… Nope.” Abed ensured.

“Then, how do you explain that Jeff got my love letter?”

“Oh so that’s what was in the secret box under your bed.”

“Great, you just confessed, thanks Abed, thanks a lot for that!” Annie railed, furious.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Annie.”

Annie gasped and watched Abed look away in the distance at an invisible camera, the same way the characters in _The Office_ would do, completely aghast.

“Abed, how many times do I need to tell you this, my life is not a movie!” Annie whined, desperate. “You can’t just go around through my stuff and take them for your own weird personal business!”

“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about, Annie.”

“Please, at least, tell me you haven’t mailed all the letters in the box.”

“Annie, can I speak to you for a second?”

Annie stiffened at the sound of Troy’s voice behind her and slowly turned away. He was standing in the doorframe, a letter in his hand.

“This can’t be happening…” Annie whispered, mortified.

“I found this in the mailbox this morning. First, I was confused because I didn't understand why you wrote a letter to me when we live in the same apartment. But anyway, why did I get this now?” Troy asked, looking genuinely confused. “I’m with Britta now, and I thought your crush on me was over.”

“It is, I swear it is, there’s just been a huge misunderstand –“

“Hey Annie, may I speak with you for a second?”

Annie turned around in the opposite direction to see Rich Stephenson, standing in the opposite doorframe Troy was already standing in. Obviously, he was also holding a pink letter in his hand.

“See?” Annie screamed at Abed, who was expression-less. “Look what you’ve done!!”

Tears of frustration started rolling down on Annie’s cheeks, and she didn’t even bother to answer Troy and Rich’s questions. She just exited the room, crouching down to pass below Troy. She ran away as fast as she could, followed by Troy and Rich’s inquisitive eyes.

Troy took a moment to gather his thoughts, but eventually, he decided to run after Annie. He found her at the turn of a hallway, back against the wall, softly crying.

“Annie, please, you can’t just send something like this to me, and then run away.” Troy exclaimed once he was in front of her. “I just want to understand what’s going on.”

Annie closed her eyes, avoiding Troy’s insistent gaze. She had no idea how to wade through this nightmare. When Britta would find out that “Annie” sent a love letter to her boyfriend, she would never want to be friends with her again, eventually jeopardizing the wellbeing of the study group.

Annie turned her head to her right and she huffed. Jeff was walking in their direction. As if she hadn’t had enough on her plate already!

“Hey Annie, I’m sorry if I’ve upset you earlier, I was just messing with you.” Jeff said from afar before reaching her side. “Jeez, are you okay?” He asked once he was close to her.

Annie observed Jeff’s behavior in the seconds that followed. First, he looked at her, eyebrows raised, puzzled. Then, he turned his head to face Troy, who was also raising his eyebrows at him. Finally, he lowered his eyes and noticed the letter Troy was holding in his hand. After that, Jeff looked back at Annie and smirked.

“Okay, I guess it all makes more sense now.” Jeff softly said, putting his thumb to Annie’s cheek to wipe a tear.

“What makes more sense?” Troy asked, dumbfounded. “Guys, I’m really confused right now, can someone please explain what is going on?”

Annie didn’t have a rational explanation for what happened after that. Maybe it was because of her passing out earlier and her head still feeling dizzy. Maybe it was because of Troy’s confusion and cluelessness. Maybe it was because of Jeff’s deeply annoying smirk. Or maybe it was all three. Regardless, she unexpectedly found herself grabbing Jeff’s collar and kissing him without any warning. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds but Annie could tell Jeff was utterly surprised. His eyes stayed wide opened until Annie finally parted from him and looked back at Troy, who was more confused than ever.

“What… the… I’m sorry, what??” Troy stammered, his eyes blinking alarmingly fast.

“I’m sorry, Troy.” Annie sighed as calmly as possible while Jeff stared at her in disbelief. “It’s so embarrassing, you weren’t supposed to get that letter in the first place. I don't know how it got into our mailbox, I wrote it such a long time ago, maybe it got lost and someone mailed it or whatever.”

Annie was no longer crying now, she was simply acting all natural and dorky, while Jeff still searched her eyes for an explanation.

“But it’s all good, don’t worry, because Jeff and I are together now, so you don’t have to worry about me having a crush on you anymore, it’s fine, really.” Annie giggled.

Troy widened his eyes and stiffened for a few seconds. Slowly, he turned around to look at Jeff, then at Annie, then again before gasping.

“You two are together??” Troy exclaimed. “I knew it!! It was so obvious! But wait… Why didn’t you tell anyone in the group?”

“Oh hum… Because it’s, hum… It’s still very new, actually…” Annie stammered, caught in her lie. “And we –“

“We wanted to wait until things got actually serious before breaking the news to you, guys.”

Annie was astounded by Jeff’s following up on her lie. She looked at him, frowning, expecting him to burst out laughing and tell Troy that this was all a really bad joke, that he would never, in a million years, date a girl like Annie. But Jeff did no such thing. He just stood there, hands in his pocket, confident, asserted.

“And now, things are serious?” Troy asked suspiciously.

“We were going to wait a little bit more but now that we’ve been caught red-handed, I guess we might as well tell the others. Right, Annie?”

Annie shared a meaningful look with Jeff. She was speechless. She had made up a ridiculous lie on the spot and Jeff was actually playing along with it. Maybe she was still in the infirmary right now, knocked out and daydreaming. All of this couldn’t be real.

“Right.” Annie eventually squealed. “I hope you’re not mad at me about the letter Troy, it must’ve been mailed by accident. But trust me, it’s all good, you don’t have to worry.”

“Okay, cool.” Troy sighed with a relieved smile. “You got me worried for a second here but hey, you two look great together, I’m happy for you.”

Troy clapped his hand with Jeff’s first, and then Annie’s. He was smiling ear to ear and was no longer looking concerned, which soothed Annie. Disaster avoided. More or less…

Annie watched Troy walking away towards the study room, and the second he was out of her sight, she turned to Jeff, who was chuckling like an idiot.

“Wow, okay, I certainly did not expect something like this to happen when I woke up this morning.” Jeff laughed.

“I panicked, okay?” Annie squealed, cheeks flushed. “I didn’t want Troy to tell Britta about the letter, I was afraid they were going to hate me so I freaked out. But I’ll make up for that to everyone later, I guess I can say that you and I were just a fling and that it’s over now.”

“Why would you do that? Troy can be clueless sometimes but he’s not dumb. He’s going to figure out you were lying from the beginning.”

“What else do you want me to do, Jeff? It’s not like we’re going to pretend to be in a relationship or something.”

Annie was awkwardly shrugging, guffawing and taking the situation lightly to shake her nervousness off. But it stopped when she caught a mischievous spark in Jeff’s eyes.

“Right?” Annie asked.

Neither Annie nor Jeff were aware of that, but somewhere in the distance, away from their sight in the study room, Abed was quietly smiling to himself and looking deeply satisfied.

“What’s with the happy face, Abed?” Britta asked when she entered the study room. “We don’t see much of those usually.”

“Oh nothing, it’s just a new movie plot I’m working on, and it’s planning out better than I imagined for now.” Abed answered before doing yet again the look to an invisible camera across the room.


	3. Fake-dating 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll like this chapter! Nothing much happens but I've tried setting things for the next chapters. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts in comments :)
> 
> As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel, they are awesome, they will know who they are hehe (come join us!!)

**_ Chapter 3: Fake-dating 101 _ **

The feeling of walking hand in hand with Jeff Winger in the hallways of Greendale was very much different than anything Annie had ever imagined. Maybe she was being paranoid but she felt like people were staring. Teachers glanced confusingly at them when they crossed their paths. Some students eyed Annie, then Jeff, and seemed to openly wonder how the two of them could have gotten together. Some other students eyed Jeff first, then Annie, and pouted, as if it didn’t make any sense to them that a girl like Annie scored a guy like Jeff. But again, maybe this was all just a figment of her imagination because Annie herself couldn’t believe she was holding Jeff’s hand at the moment.

They were both walking towards the study room, ready to announce to their friends that they were dating. Annie would let Jeff do all the talking since he was way more comfortable making things up than she was.

At some point, Jeff let go of her hand to place it on her waist, just above her bottom. Annie immediately shook herself to remove his hand from her body.

“Jeff! Boundaries.” She scolded, cheeks flushed pink.

“Oh, sorry, should’ve asked first.” Jeff apologized with a grin.

“This is crazy, I can’t believe we’re on our way to tell our friends about our fake relationship.” Annie whispered in confidence.

“You can thank the person who mailed your secret love letters for that.” Jeff teased.

“You really seem to enjoy the situation, don’t you?” Annie pointed out disapprovingly.

“Not at all, just happy to help a friend out so that she won’t be seen as a home wrecker.” Jeff said.

“I’m not a home wrecker!” Annie exclaimed.

“I know. Because you are so in love with me.”

“Okay, you really do enjoy the situation.”

Jeff grinned, to which Annie rolled her eyes. Of course, Jeff would enjoy a situation like this. Thanks to him, Annie would avoid fighting with Britta or Troy, and soon enough, the letters will just be an unpleasant memory. He would be the hero, the savior. But Annie wasn’t planning on giving him that self-centred satisfaction.

“We will have to establish some rules here for this to work.” She bluntly said, trying to sound confident.

“Rules? Who are you, Amy Santiago from _Brooklyn Nine-Nine_?” Jeff laughed.

“Wow Jeff, did you actually just make a reference about a TV show that didn’t air in the 80’s? I’m impressed.” Annie taunted him.

“Believe it or not, but ever since I’ve known you guys, I’m keeping myself up to date on the newest trends so you won’t make fun of me. But we’re missing the point here, aren’t we?”

“No, right. Rules first.”

“We can plan this out after telling our friends, I know exactly what I’m going to say.”

“I can’t believe we’re actually going to do this…”

In no time, they were in front of the study room. Annie spotted her friends from the windows. Shirley, Pierce, Troy, Abed and Britta, all sat already on their usual chair. Annie stared at Troy a little longer than the others and sighed.

“I thought your little crush on Troy was over since Vaughn.” Jeff pointed out when he noticed she was looking at Troy.

“It is.” Annie asserted, glaring at Jeff.

“Okay. Then, you can do this.”

Jeff held out his hand towards Annie, waiting for her to take it, while smiling at her. Annie was very aware of the fact that it was all completely irrational and foolish. The chances their friends would actually believe them were very low. Troy could be gullible, but the others, not so much. Nevertheless, Annie couldn’t resist Jeff’s insanely hypnotizing blue eyes. Any sense of rationality and composure didn’t exist anymore when she fell under his gaze. Which is why she eventually held his hand and grimaced nervously at him before they both walked into the study room, hand in hand.

“Hi guys.” Jeff greeted casually, waiting for someone to notice his hand holding with Annie.

“Oh, hey, Jeff.” Britta said without looking up from her phone.

“Hum… Is that a new thing?”

Jeff smiled at Shirley’s question and shared an amused look with Annie. She was still trying to smile, to act natural, but she was actually screaming inside. Her stomach fluttered when Shirley stared in disbelief at their fingers intertwining.

“Annie and I have something to tell you.” Jeff calmly said.

Britta finally rose her head at Jeff’s statement and widened her eyes at once.

“We didn’t want to share the news with you right away because, well… It was very new and exciting for us, we needed to see where this was headed to before making it official.”

Annie was astounded by how casual Jeff sounded at the moment. If she didn’t know they were faking it, she could have actually believed every word coming out of his mouth. In a way, she almost did.

“But Troy caught us earlier, so I think it’s time.”

Jeff looked at Annie and his eyes were quietly asking her if she was still on board. Annie was moved by Jeff’s consideration towards her. She smiled and tightened her grip on his hand. Therefore, he winked at her and turned his head to face his friends’ incredulous looks.

“Annie and I are dating.” Jeff eventually said.

Annie paid attention to everyone’s reaction. Britta gasped, Shirley closed her eyes in disbelief, Pierce made a hearty laugh, Troy nodded and Abed… stayed still.

“Since when are you two humping?” Pierce asked with a gross smile.

“Eww, Pierce, keep your gross questions to yourself!” Britta scolded him.

“Thanks, Britta.” Jeff chuckled. “Well, not so long, actually. We kind of saw each other during the summer, without all of you guys I mean, and… We realized there were some feelings here we couldn’t deny anymore.”

Annie looked up at Jeff, her heart suddenly pounding faster and louder. Jeff sounded so convincing she actually needed to repeat herself mentally that it was an arrangement between them and that none of that was actually true.

“I thought you said Annie was reading into things once.” Britta recalled, looking genuinely confused.

“I guess I wasn’t ready to admit what I was actually feeling at that time.”

“I’m sorry, Jeffrey, but aren’t you much older than our little Annie?” Shirley eventually asked disapprovingly.

“There is an age gap here, that much is true.” Jeff nodded. “Which is why I haven’t acted on my feelings for Annie until now. But, you know, when you found the right person… You can’t fight it forever, can you?”

Annie blushed and smirked satisfyingly. A little voice in her head kept on screaming that Jeff didn’t mean any of this, that it was a sham to get their friends to buy their lie, but at some point, she stopped listening to the little voice and lost herself into Jeff’s words.

“Well, I think it’s awesome, guys.” Troy said with a wide grin. “If it makes you happy, then I’m happy.”

“We are very much happy.” Jeff asserted.

Shortly after saying that, Jeff grabbed Annie’s waist and lightly kissed her forehead, which made her smile even more. She felt light-hearted and flattered. Moreover, Troy actually seemed to believe them and she couldn’t be more relieved he had already forgotten about the letter.

“I’m sorry but I’m having a hard time believing you two started seeing each other a couple of months ago and none of us suspected a thing until now.” Britta eventually pointed out, frowning.

“You haven’t suspected anything because you were too busy sucking on Troy’s face.” Pierce guffawed.

“Eww!” Everyone exclaimed.

“No but seriously, where is this even coming from?” Britta continued, ignoring Pierce’s rude comments.

“It actually makes a lot of sense, Britta.”

Britta, along with everyone else in the room, turned around to look at Abed, perfectly still and lightly grinning. Annie squinted at Abed, still convinced he was the one who sent out her letters. She was wondering what he was going to say regarding her supposed relationship status with Jeff.

“The tension building up between Annie and Jeff has been going on since our first season.” Abed plainly explained. “The culmination point was when they teamed up for the debate against City College. That’s obviously when they realized they were attracted to each other. Then, they tried to ignore this attraction, especially Jeff, who knew it was slightly inappropriate because of Annie’s age. But then, Annie started dating Vaughn, and Jeff tried to set Annie with Troy because he was jealous.”

“Abed, that is absolutely not true.” Jeff interjected while Annie opened her mouth in shock. “I was just concerned, I was not jeal –“

“I’m not finished.” Abed interrupted. “Then, Annie was supposed to leave Greendale with Vaugh, and it made you sad, and you ended up in a love triangle with Britta and Professor Slater, so you panicked and ran to Annie for comfort.”

Britta cleared her throat and Annie blushed at Abed’s mention of her kiss with Jeff at the Transfer dance. She looked at him, who was perfectly expression-less. She wondered how he felt about Abed’s speech.

“Then, in our second season, you decided to ignore your feelings for Annie, and you started hooking up off screen with Britta. Even then, you were obviously jealous of Rich when Annie showed interest in him.”

“Okay, Abed, I think we’ve heard enough.” Jeff said, visibly annoyed.

“Yeah, I think so too.” Britta approved, suddenly uncomfortable.

“Point is, pretty much everyone in the school noticed there was something going on between Jeff and Annie.” Abed continued. “They’re our main pairing. No offense.” He added while looking at Troy and Britta. “It was only a matter of time before the pairing became canon. They just started out their relationship hiding because they didn’t know how we would react and they feared for the balance of the group. Just like Chandler and Monica. So yeah Britta, it makes sense.”

Abed didn’t wait for anyone’s approval before nodding to himself and opening up his history book, without addressing the bewildered looks his friends were giving him. Annie and Jeff quickly looked at each other, both puzzled. Did Abed really just supported them in their insane lie?

“Well… I guess you made your point, Abed.” Britta admitted, defeated. “But anyway, you two aren’t really the closest couple we’ve seen so far.”

“We were just trying to stay under the radar, Britta, because we knew you guys would have a hard time accepting our relationship. But regardless, now that we’ve opened up to you, we hope you will accept us.” Jeff said.

Annie could tell Shirley and Britta were not happy with the news. Shirley was staring restlessly at Jeff, obviously upset. After all, Jeff was closer in age with her than he was with Annie, so she could only imagine what Shirley thought about them being a couple despite their significant age gap. As for Britta, Annie didn’t quite understand why she seemed so annoyed. She was pretending to date Jeff mostly because she didn’t want Britta to resent her for sending a love letter to Troy, and yet, it still felt like Britta was mad at Annie. Sure, Jeff and Britta used to be a fling for a few months, but they had quickly called it off and decided they were better as friends. So why did Annie feel like Britta was strongly unhappy with her at the moment?

“Alright, now that we broke the ice, why don’t we do what we originally came here to do? Studying, in case some of you didn’t take a hint.” Jeff teased.

Everyone nodded, but the awkward tension in the room was too palpable for Annie to ignore. She noticed Shirley and Britta were avoiding eye-contact with her, which saddened her. Even Jeff spent the whole time of the study session fooling around with Troy or Pierce and didn’t acknowledge her. They just told their friends they were dating and Jeff acted like his usual self. Even though they were not dating for real, she would have at least expected a little bit more attention from Jeff. Annie pouted, disenchanted, and stayed silent for the rest of the hour.

***

When the group finished the study session, it was officially the weekend. Annie stood up at once and, unlike what she usually did when it was the end of the week, she didn’t hug her friends goodbye and just ran out of the study room. She felt upset, disappointed, downhearted even. She didn’t know what she was expecting but certainly not that.

Before she could get to her locker, Annie felt a grip on her arm and turned around, eyes a little blurry. She faced Jeff and had to lift her head up to be able to look him in the eyes.

“Hey.” She mumbled, blinking fast.

“Tell me what’s wrong.” Jeff softly said.

“Nothing. I’m good.” Annie lied before opening up her locker and staring into it.

“Annie, we’ve been friends for the past three years now, I can tell when you’re lying.”

“Fine, I’m just…” Annie started, biting her lower lip to keep it from shaking. “I don’t know what I expected but the whole point of faking our relationship was to keep Britta from hating me because of the letter and yet, it feels like she hated me back there.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Jeff whispered before taking Annie in his arms.

Annie let herself go into Jeff’s arms and rested her head against his chest. He was gently patting her back and she sniffed a little, tears at the corners of her eyes. She didn’t want to cry, she didn’t want to look like a helpless little girl. So she held them back and just focused on how soft Jeff’s sweater was.

“Britta doesn’t hate you, I think she was just… confused.” Jeff eventually said when Annie parted from him. “She probably wasn’t expecting something like that and she just needs some time to process the whole thing.”

“Maybe.” Annie let out before blowing her nose in a tissue.

“Anyway, how was I back there?”

“Very convincing. You even made _me_ believe that we were actually in love.”

“Haha… Yeah. That’s the lawyer power move, always works.”

Annie lightly chuckled and Jeff smiled at her. She didn’t know what she got herself into when she pressed her lips against Jeff’s earlier today, but ultimately, it could actually work out for the best and help her move past Troy and Britta’s relationship. Suddenly, that thought made Annie realize something quite important.

“By the way… Why did you even play along in the first place when I told Troy we were dating?” Annie asked, frowning. “What’s in it for you?”

Jeff looked embarrassed all of a sudden. He was scraping his neck, clearing his throat. Annie had probably hit a nerve, which is why she expectantly waited for his answer.

“I kind of hoped you wouldn’t ask.” Jeff eventually admitted. “This is a little embarrassing.”

“You can tell me. I want to know.” Annie encouraged him, curious.

“Well… The thing is, Slater kind of reached out to me again a couple of days ago. She said she wanted to give us another shot, I said no, she asked me if I was seeing anybody and I… kind of said I did.”

Annie widened her eyes and just let out a light “oh”, taken aback. She felt a lump in her throat at the mention of Michelle Slater, Jeff’s ex-girlfriend, who still taught at Greendale. Weird thing to feel about your fake boyfriend’s ex.

“I know it sounds stupid, but I thought having someone in my life, hypothetically or not, was the only way I wouldn’t break and go back with Michelle.” Jeff continued. “We don’t work as a couple, so I would’ve ended up letting her down again, she would’ve thought I got back with her just for sex, it would’ve made me look like a jerk again… Long story short, when you kissed me earlier today, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to avoid going down that road again if I ever run into Michelle in the next days. I hope you’re not mad.”

Annie pursed her lips and lowered her eyes. She had no right to be mad. She was also faking this relationship for her own personal business. She would be hypocritical if she lashed out at Jeff right now. Even so, she still felt a little infuriated. Regardless, she decided to show him otherwise.

“It’s okay, Jeff.” Annie asserted with a light smile. “We both have our embarrassing and stupid reasons for faking this relationship. I think we’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” Jeff sighed, relieved. “It’s not like we’re going to do that on the long run, either way.”

“S – Sure.” Annie stammered. “I mean, of course. Totally.” She then giggled nervously.

“We should agree on a deadline. What do you think?”

“Hum… Okay. What about three months?” Annie suggested in a high-pitched voice.

“Three months??” Jeff exclaimed.

“Well, in case you’ve forgotten, before the Christmas break, we all signed up for a ski trip weekend and… I’m pretty sure I saw Miss Slater’s name on the chaperon list.”

“Oh… Right. Good point, I actually completely forgot about that.”

“Then it’s settled. We do this for three months, and after the ski trip, we’re done.”

“Deal.”

Jeff and Annie shook their hands to seal their agreement, both smiling.

“Okay… Now, why don’t we go establish our dating rules over some coffee?” Annie suggested before taking her notebook and her favourite purple pen out of her locker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I brought Michelle Slater back for the purpose of the story, I don't know if they mention her still teaching at Greendale around season 4 but I'm assuming she is.


	4. Advanced pretending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for their endless support, these guys are the nicest!

**_ Chapter 4: Advanced pretending. _ **

When Annie got home that night, she let herself fall onto her bed and sighed heavily. Her hair was spread out around her head, her backpack still on her shoulders as she was squeezing her notebook against her chest. She waited at least two minutes before getting back up again, putting her backpack in a corner of the room and reading for the millionth time the list of rules she and Jeff had just written a couple of hours ago.

**_ Jeff & Annie’s dating contract _ **

  1. No French kiss (Annie’s rule, not mine)
  2. ~~Jeff won’t write down everything we’re saying out loud here because it’s annoying~~
  3. Under **no circumstances** Jeff & Annie will have gross public displays of affection
  4. Coffee and/or dinner dates between Jeff & Annie at least twice a week (+ post a picture on Facebook)
  5. A maximum of **2 pet names** each
  6. Don’t tell anyone the truth
  7. Contract to be annulled **after** the ski trip
  8. **NO STRINGS ATTACHED**



They worked on the list for about half an hour, in-between sips of coffee, Jeff’s impromptus phone distractions and Annie’s peaks of perfectionism. In the end, these eight – well, seven, actually, the second one didn’t really count – were what both of them agreed on. Seven rules that would be applied and respected until the end of the ski trip in December.

They would already apply rule number four the next day. Having a coffee date, just the two of them, in Greendale’s cafeteria, where everyone, including their friends, would be able to see them. And they would have to be convincing. They would have to convince everyone they were in love. Jeff would probably have to put on a show out there. Annie, on the other hand… Well, let’s say she won’t have to try that hard.

Once she stopped daydreaming, Annie thought about a place to hide the list in her room. She didn’t want Abed or Troy to find it if they ever came sneaking into her room. Therefore, she hid the list somewhere she knew it would be safe – in a random book amongst her bookshelf. Grinning satisfyingly, she grabbed her vanity case along with her pajamas to go take a shower and started heading out. She opened the door and gasped loudly.

“Abed, what were you doing behind my door?” Annie exclaimed, a hand to her heart. “Were you spying on me?”

“I wasn’t.” Abed immediately denied.

“Okay… Then, what do you want?” Annie asked, annoyed.

“I wanted to ask you if you were mad at me.” Abed bluntly said.

“Well. I don’t really have any proof but I’m still assuming you’re the one who sent the letters, so… Yeah, I guess I am a bit mad at you.” Annie calmly answered, raising an eyebrow.

“Good.” Abed simply said before turning around.

“Wh – I’m sorry, how is me being mad at you any good, Abed?” Annie interjected, astounded.

“It’s not you being mad, it’s me figuring out you were mad in the first place. Good because I understood that.”

“Well, I think me yelling at you in the study room made it pretty obvious, didn’t it?”

“You never know.”

Annie was infuriated by Abed’s casualness and pretend cluelessness. He put her into that mess in the first place and now, he acted like it was no big deal. No matter what, Annie wasn’t going to let him have the satisfaction he was obviously seeking.

“Well, good thing Jeff and I are pretty rock solid and trust each other.” Annie lied with a fierce look. “It’s not some silly little love letters that’ll ruin our relationship.”

“Cool. You guys seem happy. I guess.” Abed shrugged before heading towards the kitchen.

Annie gasped another time and rushed towards the bathroom before locking herself into it. She brooded on her conversation with Abed the whole time she showered.

***

On Monday, Annie decided to dress up a little bit more elegantly than usual. Even though it was probably silly, she wanted people to look at her, at Jeff Winger’s arm, and think “what a lovely couple”. She almost got late for breakfast over picking the right dress. When she met with the boys in the living-room, they both stared at her as she sat down next to them. They spent almost the entire weekend in the Dreamatorium, thus, it was the first time she was actually seeing them since Friday evening.

“Good morning.” She said politely.

"Morning." Troy and Abed simulatenously responded.

“You haven’t worn that dress in a while.” Abed pointed out. "In theory, it means there's been a significant change in your life."

“I haven't worn that dress in a while, true” Annie confirmed while pouring herself a glass of orange juice. “But today, I just wanted to wear it. Is that a bad thing?”

Abed didn’t respond and simply got up to take his bowl of hot cocoa out of the microwave. Annie sighed and turned her head towards Troy, who awkwardly smiled at her.

“Just wanted you to know, I haven’t told anyone about the letter.” Troy suddenly muttered at her.

“Oh. The letter. Right.” Annie puffed, waving a hand in the air. “I already forgot about that.” She lied.

“Do you want it back? I feel like I wasn’t supposed to read it. And also, I feel weird keeping it now that I know about you and Jeff.”

“It’s okay, Troy, you can keep it. It’s not like it’s my shameful little secret or whatever. I don’t care. Keep it.” Annie blurted out.

“Okay. I just… I don’t really know where to keep it, you know.” Troy admitted, frowning at Annie’s fast talking.

“Or just throw it away. It’s fine. It’s nothing important anyway.” Annie continued, huffing nervously.

“I’m not sure it’s the kind of things you’re supposed to throw away either.”

“Fine, just give it back to me, I’ll put it back in my room.”

Annie sounded more upset than she wanted to by saying that and instantly regretted it. Troy seemed confused and Abed had just returned to the table, undoubtedly curious. Annie kept her mouth shut the whole time they were having breakfast and was the first one to leave the apartment afterwards.

She arrived to school quicker than she imagined and parked her car next to Shirley’s, not even on purpose. Annie got out of the car, grabbed her backpack and ran to Shirley with a wide smile. She was disappointed to see Shirley welcoming her with a cold smile.

“Hi, Shirl’s.” Annie greeted joyfully nevertheless. “How was your weekend?”

“Delightful.” Shirley softly answered, even though her smile wasn’t sincere. “What about yours?”

“Quiet. Did a lot of homework.” Annie honestly answered without thinking.

“Did you not see your… Boyfriend?”

Annie’s smile faded when she noticed how sarcastic Shirley was actually being. Either way, she didn’t want to fight with her, which is why she managed to stay calm and rational.

“He was busy, I was busy. We’re not always glued to each other.” Annie answered.

“Hum.” Shirley muttered.

“You know, Shirley, if you have a problem with me, I’d rather know because I feel quite uncomfortable right now, might be better once the cat’s out of the bag.” Annie calmly said.

“Oh, I absolutely do not have a problem with you, Annie.” Shirley asserted, insisting on the ‘n’ sound in her name. “I want nothing but for you to be happy.”

“But…?”

“Well… I love our Jeffrey but I’m not sure you should be with someone who’s –“

“Older?” Annie interrupted.

“I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that Jeffrey already lived so many things in his life and you’re still young. Maybe someone your age would be a better fit for you. I don’t want to meddle but I’m just concerned, is all.”

“I appreciate your concern Shirley, but I’m a grown woman and I know what is right for me. Jeff and I are good together.”

“Glad to hear that.”

Annie and Shirley both turned their heads towards Jeff, who parked on the other side of the parking lot. He was walking in their direction, with sunglasses on. He was wearing a brown denim jacket that suited him too damn well. Annie lingered on him for a few seconds before coming back to Earth and gathering her thoughts.

“Well, hi there… puppy bear.” Annie made up on the spot before grimacing.

“Hello, my little sunshine.” Jeff answered before kissing Annie’s forehead.

Annie was anticipating Shirley’s reaction to this obviously unnatural interaction but Shirley just kept on smiling and even seemed a little soothed when Jeff put his arm around Annie’s shoulders and played with a lock of her hair between his fingers.

“I’ll give you two the benefit of the doubt because you’re both some of my closest friends and I only want happiness for my friends.” Shirley softly told them. “But careful Jeffrey, you better not hurt our little Annie.”

“I will never dare. I’m too scared of you, Shirl’s.” Jeff taunted her with a smile.

Shirley slightly chuckled and eventually grabbed her purse on the backseat of her car before locking it and walking towards campus. Once she was out of sight, Annie stepped away and stood in front of Jeff, who was chewing a piece of gum and smirking annoyingly.

“Puppy bear?” He teased. “That’s the pet name you came up with after you had an entire weekend to think about it?”

“I don’t know, I brainstormed a full page of romantic pet names written down but that’s the only one I could think of while Shirley was here.” Annie confessed, ashamed.

“It’s fine, you still have another one to give, just think of something less cheesy and more believable, next time.” Jeff taunted her before walking.

“You can talk with your ‘little sunshine’, it’s cheesier than mine.” Annie protested, walking next to him, trying to keep up with his big steps.

“You’re just mad because my nickname is adorable and you secretly love it.” Jeff winked at her.

“I do not!” Annie exclaimed.

She absolutely did.

“So, lunch date today?” Jeff asked once they were in the building.

“I thought it was coffee date today.” Annie corrected.

“Whatever, just meet me in the cafeteria at noon and we’ll think of something.”

Jeff stopped in front of his locker and grabbed some books in it that he put inside his bag. Annie wasn’t sure whether to stay with him or move away to her next class, but before she could decide, she thought she saw Rich walking in their direction.

“Oh no.” She muttered.

“What is it?” Jeff asked.

“Letter number four coming our way.” Annie whispered.

Rich unfortunately spotted them and immediately joined them. Annie shared a helpless look with Jeff before Rich was in front of her.

“Hi Annie.” Rich greeted with an awkward smile. “Couldn’t reach out to you after you ran away the other day.”

“Hey Rich.” Annie said, trying to sound casual. “Yeah, I was… kind of busy.”

“You looked upset when I came to talk to you. Is everything okay?” Rich asked, apparently concerned.

“Totally. I’m amazing.” Annie assured, even though she was toddling about.

“Look, about the letter you sent –“

“Sorry for the misunderstanding, Rich.” Jeff stepped in, putting his hand on Annie’s arm. “Annie was sorting through her papers last week and there was this old letter she wrote to you a couple of years ago that got lost into the mail and was probably accidentally sent.”

“Oh. I see. A couple of years ago, huh?” Rich asked Annie, confused as to why Jeff had answered for Annie.

“Y – yeah, it was after we volunteered together.” Annie stammered, disconcerted. “I just… wrote my feelings away, so to speak, but I never meant for it to be sent.”

“Okay. I see. Well, I wouldn’t say these kind of things happen to me every day, it’s certainly unusual but either way, I’m relieved.” Rich sighed. “I know we had this conversation already, so I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, Annie.”

“Her feelings are fine, buddy, don’t worry.” Jeff asserted.

“By the way, hello Jeff. I think Annie can speak for herself without a spokesperson.” Rich told Jeff.

“Sooooo, glad we could clear the air now Rich.” Annie quickly said before Jeff could reiterate. “My feelings are fine, indeed, thanks for caring. Would you mind giving me the letter back, though? I’m a little bit embarrassed you got to read it in the first place. Such an awkward misunderstanding.”

“Oh, sure sure, it’s yours, take it.” Rich said before handing Annie the letter. “After all, it kind of felt like I was reading your diary, so I’m gladly returning it to you.”

“Thank you so much for that.” Annie smiled. “See you around, maybe.”

“Bye guys!”

Rich smiled yet another time and walked away, allowing Annie to relax a little bit.

“And one letter back.” She sighed. “Rich was kind of right Jeff, you didn’t have to speak for me.”

“You looked nervous, I just thought I was helping you back there.”

“Well, you just made things weird. You should follow Rich’s example and give your letter back to me.”

“I told you, I want to keep it. It’s like a token.”

“A token of what, exactly?” Annie asked, taken aback.

“A token of our unconditional love, my little sunshine.”

“Ugh, I shouldn’t have asked.”

Annie grumbled, which made Jeff smirk. She noticed he was trying to take a peak of Rich’s letter, therefore, she quickly folded it and put it in her backpack. Her intimacy had been violated enough as it was in the last few days, Jeff reading another one of her crush’s letter would be the icing on the cake.

“Well, I better get going, I have class in like five minutes.” Annie then said.

“Sure, just wait a minute before leaving.” Jeff retorted.

Annie frowned and didn’t have time to ask him what he meant, since he suddenly pulled her close to him and pressed his lips against hers. Annie kept her lips sealed so that the kiss wouldn’t go further, as rule number one stated, but she was eased when she noticed Jeff didn’t intend to deepen the kiss anyway. He quickly stepped away from her and then mouthed something. She squinted, uncertain as to what Jeff tried telling her, and focused even more on his lips as a result. She eventually got it: his lips were mouthing the name “Slater”.

Annie turned around and saw _her_. Michelle Slater was standing at the other end of the hallway, staring at the both of them. Well, staring at Jeff, more specifically. She looked absolutely and utterly shocked. Annie looked back at Jeff, who was holding her by the waist and gently stroking her back.

“You could at least warn me.” Annie muttered, awkwardly putting her hands to his chest.

“Didn’t have time. She was staring.” Jeff whispered back.

“I think we can talk at a normal volume, she’s too far to hear us.” Annie pointed out, a smile tucking at the corner of her lips.

“I know but it’s so much funnier to pretend it’s a secret, isn’t it?”

Annie quietly giggled while Jeff was chuckling. He still hadn’t let go of his grasp on her waist, but strangely enough, she wasn’t complaining. It could certainly go against their rule on public displays of affection but right now, their pretend intimacy felt so nice she didn’t really care about the rules anymore.

“You know, I didn’t think it would be this easy.” Annie eventually whispered, smiling. “Us pretending to be a couple. It’s even nicer than I imagined –“

“Okay, she’s gone.” Jeff interrupted her.

And just like that, he stepped away from her at once and wasn’t even looking at her anymore. Annie looked at him with widened, disenchanted, saddened eyes, which he didn’t even seem to notice.

“You were saying?” He eventually asked her.

“N – nothing. It wasn’t important.” Annie shrugged, secretly disappointed.

“Are you sure? I want to make sure I’m not doing anything that makes you even slightly uncomfortable.”

“It’s okay Jeff, I didn’t mind you holding me earlier.”

“Okay. Don’t hesitate to let me in if I ever cross a line.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry.”

Jeff smiled at her, and she almost wanted to forget he basically pushed her away the second Michelle Slater wasn’t looking at them anymore. That simple little action said a lot about Jeff’s true feelings towards Annie. He was actually only doing this fake relationship thing to avoid going back to Slater. And that little realization hurt Annie more than she wanted it to.

“Okay, so let’s meet in the cafeteria at noon and be the most adorable couple this stupid college has ever seen.” Jeff eventually said in a pretend solemn tone.

“Obviously. The most adorable.”

“See you later, little sunshine.”

Annie chuckled, lowering her eyes to stare at her feet in embarrassment. Jeff closed his locker and before walking away, he put a hand to her waist and pulled her closer to kiss her tenderly on the top of her head. When he parted from her, he smiled and eventually headed towards his next class. Annie was still disillusioned about Jeff’s reactions regarding Rich and Slater but her heart pounded a tiny bit faster in her chest when she rose her eyes up again and realized there was no one else in sight when Jeff showed a little gesture of – pretend? – affection to her just a few seconds ago.


	5. Contemporary date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks to the Discord Community #fan-fic channel for their support and encouragement!
> 
> This chapter has been really fun to write, hope you'll enjoy it!

**_ Chapter 5: Contemporary date. _ **

_Good morning, Greendale! Did you notice it smells like Dean spirit in here?... Well, long story short, time to study your old music classics, all the way from the 80’s til now, because Greendale Community College’s music club is hosting our very first Blind Test party on Friday night!! Feel free to sign up beforehand, the music club will hold a booth in the cafeteria tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday morning and Thursday, all day. The Funky Sip Hideout will host the blind test, but the club will give you further details when you sign up. There’s obviously a little price to wiiiiin! Also, it goes without saying but I guess I must point it out regardless: no underage students allowed. Have a splenDEAN day, Greendale!_

Annie exhaled at the end of the Dean Pelton’s morning announcement as she was walking towards the study room to meet with the others. It was barely 10 A.M. but she felt like this day would never end. She didn’t even manage to concentrate in her last class because she couldn’t stop thinking about Jeff. Jeff’s smugness, Jeff’s annoying smirk, Jeff’s dimples when he smirked, Jeff’s denim jacket, Jeff’s hand on her waist, Jeff’s kisses…

Annie realized she was lost in thoughts and now blushing. She cleared her throat, which drew curious glances at her, regardless, she composed herself and walked briskly towards her destination. She arrived shortly and noticed a blonde head, already sitting in her usual spot.

“Okay. Hope this won’t be awkward.” Annie muttered to herself before entering the room.

Annie graciously sat down in her chair and smiled at Britta. The latter barely even noticed her and threw her a quick look before looking back down at her phone.

“Hi, Britta.” Annie greeted lightly.

“Hello Annie.” Britta flatly responded.

“How was your weekend?” Annie enquired.

“The usual. Worked a few shifts at the bar, hung out with cats, barely talked to my boyfriend because he was with his other boyfriend in their adult playroom. Sounds ambiguous when you put it like that, actually. But you live with them, you know what I mean.”

“I do. They’ve actually been in the Dreamatorium so much I haven’t seen them at all for two days. I have two roommates and sometimes, it feels like I’m living alone.”

“Well, you’re a strong and independent woman, you don’t need ‘em.”

Annie chuckled at Britta’s statement, to which Britta herself smiled. This conversation was pretty mundane and not very interesting, but Annie was delighted she was having it with Britta, because she could feel like she didn’t resent her, like she was afraid she would, and she couldn’t be more relieved.

“What about you?” Britta eventually asked, taking her history book out of her bag. “How was your weekend, since you didn’t hang out with The Inspector and Constable Reggie?”

“It was okay.” Annie casually responded. “I got ahead on some homework, did laundry, sorted through my stuff. Not very exciting but at least, I got some rest.”

“These kind of weekends are the deal.” Britta joked. “Netflix and chill with the boyfriend, am I right?”

Annie couldn’t help it, her cheeks turned instantly red at Britta’s innuendo and she buried her eyes in her books and notebooks out on the table. She cleared her throat to make her voice sound normal, but she could feel like Britta couldn’t be fooled.

“Yeah, actually, we didn’t have time to see each other this weekend.” Annie made up on the spot, sorting repeatedly through her pens. “But it’ll probably be our next weekend’s program, for sure.”

“I bet.”

Annie was able to recognize Britta’s ironic tone whenever she was using it, and now was definitely one of these times. Annie tried to remain convincing, not showing any sign of disturbance.

“So, did you hear about the blind test party on Friday night?” Annie asked in an unnaturally high voice to change the subject.

“Of course I did. I’m going to sign up first thing tomorrow. Actually, I was thinking it could be a really fun night out for us, what do you think?”

“Sure, it’d be great! I’m not exactly sure Pierce would kill it since he’s been stuck in the 80’s but –“

“Oh no no, I didn’t mean, like, all of us. I was thinking more of a couples’ night. A double date with you, me, Troy and Jeff. That would be so fun, wouldn’t it?”

Annie rose her head up again and stared bewilderedly at Britta, who was undeniably enjoying the situation. She was smiling, just a thin, discreet smile, that actually meant a lot. Annie understood right away what was actually going on – Britta was testing her. She intended to put Jeff and Annie to the test by going out with them and only them, not the rest of the group. She didn’t buy their relationship’s shenanigan and wanted to prove it.

Annie tried to think fast and hide that she was actually startled.

“You know what?” Annie began saying, with a pretend wide smile. “That is such a good idea, Britta! Our first double date. The four of us. Who would have thought?”

“Certainly not me.” Britta teased with a smile and a furrowed eyebrow.

“But, hum, I’m not sure Jeff’s available that night, though.” Annie continued, pretending to be disappointed. “I’ll ask him later.”

“Sure, we can even ask him right now.”

Annie turned her head to her right and saw Jeff and Shirley making their entrance in the room. They briefly greeted them and sat on their chairs. Jeff took Annie’s hand and slightly lifted it up, while bowing down to her.

“Milady.” He said solemnly.

Annie chuckled and played along.

“Milord.” She retorted, solemnly as well.

At the same time, Pierce entered the room from the other entrance and sat down while making barfing sounds.

“Get a room, you horny bastards.” Pierce guffawed.

“I think Pierce’s just jealous because he never had a relationship as loving and adorable as you guys.” Britta said to Jeff and Annie.

“Thank you Britta, that is surprisingly nice coming from you.” Jeff said while taking his jacket off.

“I have my moments.”

Annie paid attention to Britta, eyes squinted. She knew something was off. Britta was certainly not the kind of person to find a couple “adorable”. She would always point out these couples who grossly make out in public, she was firmly against the institution of marriage. There was no way she could genuinely look Jeff and Annie in the eyes and tell them they were cute.

“By the way, Jeff.” Britta started saying, looking at him. “I was talking to your girlfriend before you arrived and we thought it would be nice to go to the blind test party on Friday as a double date. What do you think?”

Jeff looked away from his phone and seemed puzzled by Britta’s suggestion. It wasn’t long until he crossed eyes with Annie and quietly asked her what to say with his eyes. She decided to take the reins and deal with it herself.

“Well, it was Britta’s idea actually, don’t give me credit for that.” Annie chuckled while Jeff waited expectantly for her answer. “But I told her that you might already have something planned on that night. Don’t you?”

“Hum… I have to check my agenda first.” Jeff grumbled, searching through his phone.

Meanwhile, Troy and Abed suddenly ran in the study room, out of breath. They looked ecstatic.

“Guys, did you hear about the price for the winners of the blind test on Friday?” Troy exclaimed with a great smile.

Everyone shook their heads from left to right, thus, Abed and Troy shared a meaningful look and were apparently excited to share the news with their friends.

“They’re giving out the new MacBook Pro, for free!” Troy added.

“Fair warning, I’m going to try and win this thing, it has a very good montage software, it’ll be great for my films.” Abed pointed out, his finger raised in the air.

“I don’t even know what a Macro Book is.” Shirley shyly replied with a grimace.

“MacBook, Shirl’s.” Annie corrected her discreetly.

“It’s only a capitalist device to get people addicted to Apple’s products.” Britta started explaining with a severe tone. “You buy one, you pay like a thousand bucks for it, then it gets lame within a year, and you have to buy the newest one, for a thousand bucks again, and again, and again, until you die. You don’t want to go down that road, Shirley, trust me.”

“Well, I do.” Jeff intervened, softly hitting the table in front of him. “I’m in. Britta, sign us up, we’re going to blind test the hell out of this bar on Friday.”

Annie silently gasped, appalled, staring at Jeff. She didn’t think he would actually say ‘yes’ to Britta’s double date suggestion. Did he even realize what he got them into?

“Awesome.” Abed approved. “We’ll have consistent competition.”

“Wait, so we’re not going on a double date then, are we?” Annie tried, desperate.

“Double what now?” Troy asked while sitting next to Pierce.

“Oh, it’s just something I suggested to Annie earlier.” Britta shrugged. “You and me, going on a date with Jeff and Annie.”

“Why would we go on a date with another couple?” Troy asked, confused. “Isn’t that weird?”

“Not an actual date, silly.” Britta chuckled, softened by Troy’s innocence. “It’s like, they’re both going on a date, and the two of us, we’re also going on a date, only we’re going to the same place. So it’s a double date.”

“Oooooh. I see.” Troy muttered.

“Are you in?” Britta asked.

“Sure, why not. Could be fun.” Troy shrugged.

“Make it a triple date then, I’m coming with Shirley.” Pierce said seriously.

“I sincerely hope you’re talking about another woman you know that happens to have my name, Pierce.” Shirley retorted between clenched teeth.

“Wait, if you’re going on a double date with Jeff and Annie, am I not allowed to come to the blind test?” Abed then asked, frowning.

“No one’s forbidding you to come, Abed.” Jeff answered, arms crossed on his chest. “It’s just that Britta, Annie, Troy and I will be at a separate table. You know, because we’ll be on a double date.”

Annie threw a stink eye at Jeff, which he didn’t notice, since he was too busy clowning around. She didn’t understand how he could be so amused by the situation. He probably didn’t realize they would have to pretend to be a couple for an entire night. And they would have to be very convincing, since Britta didn’t believe them.

“So it’s settled?” Britta then asked. “Blind test party on Friday?”

Jeff and Troy nodded vehemently, then Abed made a thumbs up, while Shirley mumbled “not for me” and Pierce made up a lame excuse about having to attend an important event to which “none of them losers would ever be invited”. Annie was the only one who didn’t react, firmly crossing her arms against her chest, displeased by Jeff’s behaviour. That alone drew attention to her, to her misfortune.

“Are you on board, Annie?” Britta asked her.

Annie wasn’t sure about what she was supposed to say and therefore let her arms fall to the ground, defeated. Then, much to her surprise, she felt a sweet grasp on her right hand, under the table. She looked up and locked eyes with Jeff. He encouraged her with a smile, while softly touching her fingers. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious but that physical contact gave her chills. She tilted her head up, moistened her lips and simply answered Britta’s question with a:

“Yes.”

***

The week happened to fly by, and in a blink of an eye, it was already Friday. Britta had signed them up for the blind test party. Herself, Annie, Jeff, Troy and Abed. As Britta had no interest in winning a computer, Troy and Abed signed up as a team, therefore, so did Jeff and Annie.

Annie had to put up with Abed’s constant music blasts in the apartment throughout the entire week, as he was rehearsing as much as he could with Troy. He certainly did want to win that computer. Annie didn’t really care, she was more preoccupied by her pretend relationship, in the end.

She had warned Jeff that Britta didn’t seem to believe in their lie, but Jeff wasn’t really involved in making her think otherwise. Sure, their lunch slash coffee dates went along fine. In no more than three days, they were elected “cutest Greendale couple”, much to Craig Pelton’s sorrow. Sure, they were holding hands in the hallway, sharing bites of food in the cafeteria, tickling each other’s noses and sweet-talking whenever someone was listening. Either way, none of that seemed to make Britta take the bait. Which is why they needed to put it all out at the blind test party. And Annie already had an idea on how to succeed.

Britta was coming to Apartment 303 before heading to the party, therefore, Annie had made something up with Jeff and they decided she would go to his place and get ready for the party there. This way, they would both drive to the bar together and, most of all, they’d be able to prepare their plan for the evening.

Annie had left a bag of clothes and a vanity case in Jeff’s car when she got to campus this morning, since they were driving at his place right after classes. She was so determined to convince Britta that she wasn’t even aware she was fulfilling one of her oldest dreams: driving home with Jeff Winger, getting ready to spend an entire evening with him.

At the end of the day, Annie met Jeff at his car in the parking lot and got into the passenger seat before he drove off. They got to his apartment in a few minutes and she entered first, her bag thrown on her left shoulder. She left it in on a chair and got familiar with her surroundings, sighing.

“What is it?” Jeff asked Annie before heading to the kitchen.

“Nothing.” Annie exhaled. “It’s just… Your place is a bit sad, you could use some colors.”

“My place is perfectly fine, don’t worry about it.”

“No, I mean it, Jeff. I’ll bring you some curtains on Monday.”

Jeff silently chuckled but didn’t argue with that. Annie then observed him. He was taking a bottle of wine out of the fridge, that he put next to two wine glasses on the counter.

“Hum…” Annie began, uncertain.

“You’re not seriously thinking I’m going to a blind test party with a bunch of college guys without having a drink first, are you?”

“But what about the car?”

“I’ll call an Uber to get us there, don’t worry. I don’t drink and drive.”

Annie didn’t answer and quietly watched the glasses that Jeff poured with white wine. Afterwards, he grabbed both of them and moved towards Annie. He handed her one of the glasses and held his up high.

“What do you want to make a toast to?” Jeff asked her with a smile.

“Um, I don’t know.” Annie said, nervously chuckling. “To this nonsense, I guess?”

“A toast to this nonsense it is.”

Their glasses clinked and Jeff immediately brought the glass to his lips. He was about to drink but stopped himself, frowning at Annie.

“I didn’t even ask, are you fine with drinking alcohol?” He asked her, obviously thinking.

“I’m not saying I’m a fan but… From time to time, I guess it’s fine.”

“Okay. Let’s just no overdo it, then.”

Annie mimicked Jeff and brought the glass to her lips. She took a sip, shyly, and cleared her throat before lowering her hand, holding the glass next to her other arm. Jeff was still smiling at her and she tried as hard as she could not to show how embarrassed she was.

“So, about tonight…” Annie started with a serious voice. “Britta’s obviously putting us to a test. Because she doesn’t believe we’re dating.”

“I got that, yeah.” Jeff approved, taking another sip of wine.

“We need to convince her, once and for all.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Well… You could try being less… you and be more… you?”

“I’m not sure this actually makes sense but go on.”

“I don’t know, it’s like… Sure, you’re a little cuddly, and we hold hands when there are people around. But… I don’t think it’s enough. I think you should… let it go. More. Be more natural.”

“Annie, I don’t know how to be natural about this when we made a dating contract stating we can’t kiss or be too physical in public.”

“I know that. I’m not saying we should break the rules or whatever. Just… Try not overthinking it and just loosen up. Hold my hand, even when no one’s watching. Tell me sweet things, even when no one’s listening. Look at me like I’m your whole world, give the impression that you’re feeling like the luckiest man people have ever met. Mean it a bit more when you tuck my hair behind my ear, or when your fingers brush my cheek. You know… Things like that.”

Annie hadn’t realized how serious she sounded until she met Jeff’s eyes. For the first time, she didn’t see this annoying smirk on his lips, or this frivolous sparkle in his eyes. Instead, these same eyes were just inquisitive.

“Annie… I insisted on writing down the last rule for a reason.” Jeff whispered. “No strings attached, remember?”

“I know, Jeff. You don’t have to worry about that.” Annie assured, even though she felt a little confused by her speech herself. “I’m just being pragmatic here. We have to look a little bit more in love. Not like we’re just dating. Like we’re right for each other. You know what I mean?”

“I guess I do.” Jeff smiled. “Alright, if you promise me there’s no feelings involved, then, you’re going to have the cuddliest boyfriend ever tonight.”

“I promise you.” Annie ensure, smiling as well.

Jeff finished his glass and sighed. He was visibly relieved. Annie looked at the watch on her wrist and gasped.

“It’s almost 8, I better start getting ready.” She said, putting her glass back on the counter. “Bathroom?”

“Oh yeah, it’s actually in my bedroom, you have to go at the other side of the room, the bedroom’s on your right, and then, the bathroom will be on your right too.”

“Thanks!”

Annie grabbed her stuff and rushed towards the bathroom. She quickly got ready, meaning she put on a cleaned dress, freshened up, added another pin in her hair and in ten minutes, she decided she was ready. She took her bag from the floor and walked back through Jeff’s room before meeting him in the living-room. Once he saw she was ready, he walked to the bathroom himself to quickly shower and change clothes. In the meantime, Annie wandered about in the apartment, silently observing her surroundings. She sat down on the couch as she heard the shower running from Jeff’s room. She searched for the remote to turn on the TV for a bit, but it was nowhere to be found on the coffee table. Therefore, she lowered her eyes to see if it was on the floor when something else caught her eye.

On the lower surface of the coffee table, there was two boxes of shoes, and some paper. A pink paper. Her heart pounding loudly in her chest, Annie slowly took the paper in her hand and straightened on her seat, casually opening it, afraid it might be what she believed.

And she was right. She was holding the letter she wrote to Jeff a couple of years ago.

What she told him the other time was – almost – right. She didn’t exactly remember everything she wrote down on the letter. Before the letters got mailed, she had taken a quick peek at it, but she didn’t read it through. And now that Jeff had it and didn’t want to return it to her, she thought she would never see it again. But there it was. In her hands. While Jeff was showering and would probably never notice if she took it back.

She was about to put it in her purse, but something held her from doing it. Without being able to explain why, she suddenly had the urge to re-read it. Not all of it. Just some bits.

_Dear Jeff,_

_If I’m writing a letter to you right now, it’s because I’m feeling something for you. I’m not sure how to put it into words, but it’s something strong. Something intense._

Annie cringed a little and blushed, knowing that Jeff had read that. She was wondering how he reacted just by reading these first lines. She read another part.

_I know you were probably confused because of Britta and Professor Slater, but when you kissed me last night, I felt things I’ve never felt before in my life. You made me see the world with different colors. Brighter, more beautiful._

Annie heard the water stop and figured Jeff had finished his shower. She quickly looked towards the room but the door was still locked. She still had a chance to put the letter in her bag but she wanted to read a bit more.

_I don’t know how things will go when we’ll see each other, but what I do know is that I will not stop thinking about you. About our kiss. About how it feels to be in your arms._

Annie muttered a slightly embarrassed “oh God” before she heard the bathroom door unlocking. Panicking, she thought quickly about what to do. Take the letter back or not? Now that she’d read it again, she didn’t feel like it belonged to her anymore. It wasn't her thoughts only to read. Jeff had seen them too. And even if she took the letter back, it wouldn’t change the fact that Jeff had read it.

A little bit defeated, Annie put the letter back where she took it, pouting. A few minutes later, Jeff got out of his room with a fresh shirt and jeans, his hair still a bit wet from his shower.

“Give me five and we’ll be good to go.” He told her.

Annie smiled to approve and he got back to his room. She sighed at the realization that the feelings she had written in the letter a few years ago were not so different today, after all.


	6. Basics of a night out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I decided to rate up to T because this chapter mentions drinking alcohol and I didn't feel comfortable leaving it to general audiences. I hope nobody will feel uncomfortable about that!
> 
> As always, a huge shoutout to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel and the amazing people in it, supporting and encouraging each other. You know who you are!
> 
> Moreover, thank you to everyone commenting, leaving kudos and reading this, your feedbacks mean a lot :)

**_ Chapter 6: Basics of a night out. _ **

Annie and Jeff made their arrival at the party almost twenty minutes after their friends. It was, of course, intentional. In the ride from Jeff’s apartment to the bar, they had agreed beforehand on what they were both comfortable doing. They could have small gestures of affection towards each other, as long as it didn’t break the rule on gross public displays. Therefore, French kiss was still off the table, something on which Annie insisted, encouraging Jeff to tease her some more about it.

When the cab parked in front of the bar, Annie could read the sign Funky Sip Hideout from the car. Suddenly ill-at-eased, she swallowed hardly and shared a look with Jeff. Unlike her, he seemed perfectly comfortable.

“Remember: if you ever feel too uncomfortable at some point for any reason, we call everything off.” Jeff reminded her in a soft voice.

“No, it’s okay.” Annie sighed. “We said we would call it off after the ski trip so I’m sticking to that. Besides, I kind of want to prove a point to Britta.”

Jeff laughed and silently agreed. Without further ado, Jeff paid the cab driver with cash and then, both he and Annie exited the car at the same time to find themselves on the sidewalk, queuing up behind two groups of people waiting to get inside the bar.

“Do you have our tickets?” Jeff asked Annie.

“Yep, right here.” Annie answered while tapping her jacket’s pocket.

They waited in line for about five minutes before being the next ones to show their tickets to the security guard at the entrance of the bar. Once he saw their names on the list, he nodded and let them go in. It was the first time they were going to this Funky Sip Hideout bar, therefore, Annie quickly analysed the place the second they entered.

It looked like an Irish pub, only much bigger. There were flags hung out on the ceiling, wooden walls and a large beer counter standing at the other end of the room. There were mostly college students sitting around the tables, most certainly from Greendale’s college here to attend the blind test, but there were also some older people, probably middle-aged or just in their thirties, enjoying a good drink to Celtic music. Annie smiled and actually felt good vibes coming from this place.

“I had no idea this was an Irish pub.” Jeff commented.

“Me neither but it’s quite nice, actually.” Annie exclaimed joyfully.

“Alright, we should meet up with Troy and Britta, I’m guessing they’re already here.”

Next, they proceeded in finding their friends in the crowd. Annie was the first one to spot Britta, sitting at a table with Troy. Jeff and Annie then walked in their direction and greeted them before sitting down with them.

“Didn’t have trouble finding the place?” Britta asked Jeff, assuming he drove here.

“Oh I called a cab to take us here actually so I didn’t have to actually find the place, just gave the address to the driver.” Jeff said while taking his coat off.

“You took a cab? I thought you’d take your car.” Britta pointed out, apparently surprised.

“Well, Annie and I had a glass of wine before coming here so I assumed it wasn’t very safe to drive after that.”

Britta looked at Annie before looking back at Jeff, astounded. She apparently wasn’t believing that Annie would actually go to Jeff’s place before meeting the rest of them here.

“Anywho, have you practiced a little this week?” Britta eventually asked before taking a sip of her beer.

“Unintentionally, actually. Abed was really invested into it.” Annie answered, to which Troy nodded to agree.

“We listened to every single song likely to drop tonight, from the 80’s ‘til now.” Troy added. “You have no idea how many of them there are, I think it broke my brain.”

“Where is Abed, by the way?” Jeff asked, looking around him.

“He went over to the bar to order a non-alcoholic strawberry cocktail.” Britta responded. “Apparently, it motivates him. Also, he likes the having-a-cocktail-in-a-bar trope.”

“What a waste to order a cocktail in an Irish pub.” Jeff pointed out, pouting.

“The heart wants what it wants, Jeff.” Troy retorted, eyeing the bar to see if Abed was coming back.

“Cheers to that, Troy.” Jeff said. “And on that note, I’m going to get something to drink too. Do you want anything, cute eyes?”

Annie didn’t react right away but quickly felt Jeff’s eyes lingering on her, expectantly waiting for her answer. She lifted her eyes up to meet Jeff’s and realized the nickname “cute eyes” was obviously meant for her. She was a little startled at first, but then felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Jeff had fulfilled rule number five and officially gave her a second pet name.

“Um… Can you get me an… Appletini?” Annie asked him in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes.

“God, please, don’t make me order that.” Jeff complained.

Annie kept batting her eyelashes at Jeff until he conceded to her request with a smile.

“I can’t believe how far you could make me go just with those eyes, Annie.” Jeff told her before grabbing his wallet and heading to the bar.

Annie grinned satisfyingly and crossed eyes with Britta. She seemed slightly disconcerted, which pleased Annie.

“I know his soft spots now.” Annie shrugged with a light laugh. “You know. Because we’ve been dating for a few months now.”

Britta was squinting at Annie but with a certain curiosity now. Apparently, she was already starting to question whether or not she was right to be suspicious.

Suddenly, the lights went off and the music stopped. A single projector was aimed towards the stage, on which one of the members of Greendale’s music club was standing, in front of a microphone.

“Aaaand good evening Greendale Community College!” He exclaimed in the microphone.

Everyone started applauding and cheering. Annie quickly turned her head towards the bar and saw Jeff ordering her drink. He showed it to her and made a pretend sad face before chuckling. Annie was genuinely smiling. She already forgot about the letter episode at Jeff’s apartment and was simply looking forward to having a good time with her friends. And, maybe even, winning a new computer. It could definitely be a plus.

“So, you may already know the rules of blind tests, but I’ll cover it all again for you guys.” The guy on stage kept saying. “We play a song, you have to guess the title and the singer or band within ten seconds. And of course, you have to be fast. There will be, in total, ten songs to guess tonight. We’ll let you know when the song is part of the blind test. When it’s not, well, you can just enjoy the song by dancing around or just casually listening to it. Anyway, the ten songs will be thrown in-between random other songs, with a warning a few seconds before the song starts. Each competitor and team will have a beeper to click on when they’ll recognize the song, and then, they’ll have to write it down on their paper and give it back to us at the end of the evening. The winners will get a MacBook Pro computer delivered to them. Don’t forget to write down your team’s name on the paper, otherwise, your participation won’t be taken into account. I guess that’s it. Oh, and obviously, no cheating allowed so forget about shazaming the songs, we’ll keep an eye on you. Alright, have a great time and may the best ears win!”

The whole bar cheered again and the lights went on again, as well as the music. Two girls were supplying beepers to each team at the moment. While the rules were being explained, Abed had come back and sat down on a chair at the head of the table. He had a reddish colour cocktail in front of him and whispered to Troy in confidence.

“Wow that seems pretty serious.” Britta commented once the speech was done. “I’m excited to see who gets to win the prize.”

“I will.” Abed intervened. “Obviously. I’ve listened to every song possible in seven days.”

“How is that even possible to listen to every song that’s ever been made since the 80’s in one week, Abed?” Britta pointed out, sceptical.

“I’m like a computer, Britta. I memorize whatever I want.” Abed told her in a serious tone.

“Well, you may be a computer, Abed, but I know my music.” Jeff retorted when he came back to the table.

He sat down next to Annie, gave her the cocktail she ordered and landed a kiss on her cheek while putting his own glass in front of him. She giggled and immediately brought her glass to her lips. All of this under Britta’s alert eyes.

The group was chatting about their history class when the first blind test song was announced. They all stopped talking at the same time and focused. Annie had her beeper in hand, ready to push on the button. She locked eyes with Abed, who held onto his beeper as well and seemed even more determined than she was.

The song started. Annie beeped within two seconds, but unfortunately, Abed had beeped within one second and a half.

“Kim Wilde, _Cambodia_.” Abed blurted out while Troy was writing the song down on the paper.

“Did you actually have it?” Jeff muttered to Annie, who was pursing her lips.

“Of course I did.” Annie grumbled. “Abed, even if we both know the song, you’re not supposed to say it out loud before we’ve both written it down, I don’t want to get disqualified for cheating.”

“Sure sure, sorry. I’ll stay quiet for the next one.” Abed plainly apologized.

“Soooo, team Trobed, one, team Jannie, zero.” Britta announced with a smirk.

“Alright folks, our second blind test song will be in about ten minutes. Great job, everyone!” The speakers said before another song came on it.

“Oh I love this song.” Britta exclaimed, wiggling on her chair.

“ _Timber_ , Kesha and Pitbull.” Abed immediately said. “I can say this one, it’s not part of the blind test.”

Annie stuck her tongue out to Abed in response but he remained aloof, talking to Troy. The conversations were casual again, and while no one was paying attention to them, Jeff had moved closer to Annie so that their arms and legs were brushing each other. He put his arm over her shoulders, softly rubbing her skin. Annie felt so good she didn’t even hesitate before lifting her hand to her shoulder and intertwining her fingers to Jeff’s. They stayed like that for a while, casually talking to their friends, like it was all very natural. Annie didn’t even have to fake her happiness at the moment. Jeff’s fingers intertwined to hers and the feeling of their bodies brushing each other was incredibly nice. Sometimes, he would lean over and pretend to whisper something in her ear, and then, she would giggle, like he had just told her a secret that belonged only to the two of them. Jeff was undoubtedly having fun and enjoying the situation. So was Annie. But she was also having stronger feelings that could cross the line and go beyond the ‘no strings attached’ rules. Not that she cared at the moment. Jeff’s sweet touches and cute names were all she truly cared about for now.

The second song eventually made itself heard and it was _Express Yourself_ by Madonna. Annie was proud to beep just before Abed. Jeff shared a handshake with her and she laughed. She was down to her second Appletini and she felt amazing.

By the time the fifth song came in, Britta, Annie and Troy were all tipsy, while Jeff was still fine overall, though he kept on chuckling for nothing. On the other hand, Abed was very much sober and kept an eye on everybody.

“Have you written down the song, Jeff?” Abed asked him after they both beeped.

“Yeah, it’s _Another Day in Paradise_ by Phil Collins.” Jeff answered while Annie clapped.

“You know, now that you’re both inebriated, my chances of winning have increased. Drunk people in movies tend to think less and make unreasonable decisions.” Abed pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t underestimate us Abed, this cutie over here and myself make a pretty good team.” Jeff retorted, holding Annie against him.

“Ugh, if I have to witness this all night, I’m going to need another drink.” Britta mumbled before getting up.

“Hey, we have to tolerate your constant snuggling with Troy as well.” Jeff yelled at Britta as she waved him off.

“I don’t understand why Britta’s like this with you, guys.” Troy pointed out, frowning. “She keeps telling me she doesn’t buy it. You two dating.”

Jeff and Annie made eye-contact at Troy’s remark and giggled. Well, Annie did most of the giggling and Jeff quietly followed up.

“Jeff and Annie’s relationship pretty much came out of nowhere to Britta because she hasn’t seen the signs before.” Abed casually said, chewing on the lemon quarter that was decorating his drink.

Jeff stopped laughing and looked confusingly at Abed. Annie was interested too but she couldn’t stop smiling regardless. She felt so good.

“The signs?” Jeff repeated, dumbfounded. “Like, the stuff you mentioned the other time when we told you guys about us?”

“Yup.” Abed simply responded.

“Can you remind me what those are again?” Jeff asked, frowning.

“Simple. The googly eyes, the lingering looks when you think the other’s not watching, the constant teaming-up. You know, those kind of stuff.”

Annie was feeling like she should be upset at Abed’s responses. After all, wasn’t he the one who sent her letters in the first place? But now, Annie wasn’t so upset anymore and was wondering if, maybe, Abed sending the letters wasn’t just a nudge, after all. A little push. It did push her towards Jeff. And things were going well. Annie felt light-hearted. So, everything should be fine.

But then, Annie looked at Troy drawing a tiny Martian on a paper towel, and suddenly, she wasn’t feeling so good. She wasn’t actually dating Jeff. They wrote a dating contract and established a fake relationship because she was afraid she would argue with Troy and Britta about her love letter to Troy. None of it was actually real. Jeff’s cute names, Jeff’s touches, they were just an act.

Annie was so lost in thoughts she didn’t notice Britta was back with a beer in hand, sliding on the seat next to Troy and gently kissing him. The both of them, they were an actual couple. Troy and Britta were dating because they actually liked each other. Jeff was only pretending to date Annie because he wanted to make another woman jealous, in fact.

All the sudden, Annie wasn’t good at all. She stood up at once and didn’t even answer her friends’ questions, wondering where she was going like this. She didn’t acknowledge Jeff trying to grab her hand before she stormed out of the bar to get some fresh air.

Annie stood outside for just a few seconds before she heard the door opening and saw a tall silhouette standing next to her. She knew exactly who it was but she kept on staring at something in the distance, arms crossed on her chest.

“You know, I don’t mind getting some fresh air but we’re going to miss the sixth song if we stay there too long.”

Annie sighed at Jeff’s remark and replaced a strand of hair that was falling on her eyelid. She still didn’t have the heart to look him in the eyes. The alcohol made her head a bit heavier and her thoughts spiralling.

“Are you upset because of Abed?” Jeff eventually asked.

Annie shook her head from left to right, still silent.

“Okay. Then, are you upset because of me?”

Annie did nothing this time, because she didn’t really know what to say. She had no right to be upset because of Jeff. They both made an agreement. They both knew what they got themselves into. She couldn’t get upset because she drank a bit more than usual or because she was secretly a little jealous of Troy and Britta’s relationship.

“I take that as a yes.” Jeff added when he saw Annie wasn’t going to answer his question.

“I’m not upset, Jeff.” Annie said slowly. “I’m just… not used to drinking that much.”

“Okay, then maybe it’s your stop sign right there.” Jeff softly whispered.

“Probably…” Annie groaned.

“Hey, why don’t we go back in there, have a little fun on the dance floor, and try and win that computer? I’m sure that’ll make you feel better.”

Annie shrugged, uncertain. Regardless, she let Jeff take her hand, followed him back inside and then, next to people dancing. Jeff started dancing around, a little awkwardly, which instantly made Annie smile. Her smile turned into a grin, and the grin turned into a laugh. She suspected he was doing this on purpose to cheer her up, and just like that, she felt better and put her concerns aside.

Jeff and Annie kept on dancing for a few more minutes, laughing and spinning. After she spun too fast on herself, Annie fell into Jeff’s arms and hugged him without thinking. For the first time, she wasn’t doing this because her friends or Michelle Slater were watching. She hugged him because she wanted to. And when he hugged her back, she was certain it was because he wanted to do it as well.

Annie breathed in his shirt and smelled Jeff’s cologne. She loved the way he smelled. She lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes. She loved the way he was looking at her at the moment.

“Can I ask you something?” Annie then asked softly.

“Anything.” Jeff gently said.

“How did you come up with the ‘cute eyes’ pet name earlier?”

Annie thought Jeff would laugh at her question but he did no such thing. The opposite, even. He looked dead serious.

“Actually, I came up with that nickname pretty easily because… Well, it’s very simple, I always thought your eyes were stunningly beautiful.” Jeff honestly answered.

Annie was in awe and couldn’t think straight anymore. She was still hugging Jeff and she felt something different in the atmosphere. A tension. The kind of tension she felt a few years ago, at the Transfer dance, when she met Jeff outside and…

She wanted to kiss him. It was the only thing she had on her mind. She could tell by the way he was looking at her lips that he wanted to kiss her too. She could also tell that, just like the hug, they didn’t want to do it because people were watching. They just desperately wanted to do it.

Annie’s lips were brushing Jeff’s when the music stopped and they heard a loud voice in the speakers that made them flinch. The sixth song for the blind test was about to start. Jeff had parted from Annie right away and the moment passed.

“We should…” Jeff began, confused.

“Yeah.” Annie finished his sentence.

Without saying anything else, they simultaneously headed back to their friends. When they sat down on their seats, Annie heard Abed and Britta apparently debating on some music topics. Just a few seconds later, the sixth song began. Abed immediately beeped and Annie groaned.

“Taylor Swift, _You Belong With Me_.” Abed said to Troy, who wrote it down.

“Oh, by the way, Garrett is very drunk so he bought everyone a round of drinks.” Britta told Jeff and Annie. “I got you another cocktail than Appletini, Annie. Hope you’ll like it. Jeff, I just assumed you’d have Scotch.”

“Actually, I think we’re going to slow down on the drinking.” Jeff told Britta with a grimace. “Annie wasn’t feeling well earlier. Right, honey?”

“I feel better, actually.” Annie said. “And this cocktail looks delicious.”

Annie grabbed her glass and took a sip under Jeff’s incredulous eyes.

“Are you sure, Annie?” Jeff insisted, obviously worried for her.

“One hundred percent. This is delicious, Britta, thank you!” Annie squealed.

Annie ignored Jeff’s attempts to make eye-contact with her and focused on her delicious cocktail. Her head was getting heavier and heavier, but she ignored it, because she was finally soothed and didn’t care about Troy, Jeff or Britta anymore.

***

By the end of the tenth song, Annie just wanted to go home and have some sleep. They announced that the blind test was over and who the winner was. Annie thought she heard Abed’s name. She just didn’t care. She was sleepy.

She paid more attention when she heard Britta mention going home. Everyone stood up and she mimicked them, dreaming about jumping in her bed and sliding under her warm, soft sheets.

“Hey Abed, Annie.” Troy told his roommates once they were out of the bar. “I think I’m going to spend the night at Britta’s. Is that cool?”

“Of course.” Abed said. “To be honest, I’m probably going to spend all night on my new computer.”

Abed showed off a white box with an apple logo on it, obviously proud. Even then, Annie didn’t want to care.

“Maybe you should go home with Annie, Jeff.” Britta told Jeff with concern. “It looks like she had too much to drink.”

“Yeah and whose fault is that?” Jeff said accusingly.

“Oh come on, she’s a grown woman and she was having fun, it’s not a big deal. Besides, she’s totally fine right now, I just think she could use her boyfriend taking care of her.”

Annie didn’t want to care, but when she heard Britta saying that, she couldn’t help but tilt her head up. For the first time in a week, Britta hadn’t talked about them being boyfriend and girlfriend sarcastically. Annie shared a look with Britta, who genuinely smiled at her. She finally believed them.

“Okay, let me call a cab and I’ll take the three of us to their apartment.” Jeff said before taking his phone out of his pocket and dialling a number.

Troy and Britta left in a cab while Jeff, Annie an Abed left in another. Annie practically fell asleep on the ride home and rested her head on Jeff’s shoulder. He didn’t push her away at any moment and even held her hand when they arrived and got up the stairs to Apartment 303.

Abed unlocked the front door to their apartment and immediately ran to the bunk-bed he shared with Troy to open the box containing his new computer. Annie didn’t want to care but seeing Abed so eager and ecstatic actually softened her up.

She automatically walked towards her bedroom and let herself fall onto her bed. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps coming in her direction and the sound of a glass clinking.

“There, you should drink some water or you’ll have a bad headache tomorrow morning.” Jeff told her after putting a glass on her nightstand.

“Thanks.” Annie mumbled, eyes half closed.

“You should also take off your shoes or you’re going to fall asleep like that.”

“I don’t care, I just want to sleep.” Annie groaned.

She heard Jeff chuckle but she didn’t point it out. A few seconds later, she felt her shoes falling off her feet but she didn’t complain. It actually felt nicer.

“Alright, I’m going to go back to my place now.” Jeff softly told her. “You left your vanity and clothes there but don’t worry, I’ll give them back to you on Monday.”

Annie didn’t manage to word an answer, pretty sure she briefly fell asleep after Jeff had taken her shoes off. She woke up a few minutes later, a blanket thrown over her and the lights turned off. She squinted and looked around. She was alone in her room, door closed.

She moaned and squeezed her pillow before falling asleep again. She didn’t know if she was dreaming but she thought she remembered Jeff kissing her on the forehead before leaving and saying something about wishing her a good night and hoping their eighth rule wouldn’t be ruined by unexpected feelings. But maybe she was just dreaming.


	7. Theory of change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for being supportive and encouraging. You guys know who you are!
> 
> For this chapter, more particularly, I'd like to thank jeffwing (1sttimefeeling) who helped me with the plot of the chapter when the inspiration was lacking.
> 
> Hope you'll like this chapter!

**_ Chapter 7: Theory of change. _ **

One month had passed since the blind test party and things could not go better for Jeff and Annie’s fake relationship. Everyone in the study group had gotten used to them being together, even Britta, who stopped being reluctant to the idea. The dating contract was still being respected and neither Annie nor Jeff had mentioned their almost-kiss at the bar again. They were just back to pretending in front of everyone else. And it was fine this way.

On this Wednesday afternoon, Annie had suggested she and Jeff should have their weekly coffee date in a cosy tea room downtown, which didn’t appeal to Jeff at first, but eventually, he gave in.

They left Greendale together in Jeff’s car, under their friends’ eyes. The ride was quick, therefore, Jeff parked in front of the tea room only ten minutes after leaving the school. They both walked in and sat down in a corner of the room, on velvet armchairs around a coffee table. Annie was happy to be here and already knew what she was going to order.

“I’m going to let you order for the both of us, I don’t usually go to these kind of places, I don’t know what to get.” Jeff told Annie while sitting down.

“No problem, I know exactly what you’ll like.” Annie joyfully said.

Jeff smiled to her and took his phone out of his pocket while Annie walked towards the counter. She briefly studied the menu and then looked at the barista with a polite smile.

“Hi, I would like to order a mate tea and a milk oolong, please.” Annie cheerfully asked.

“Sure, that’ll be seven dollars, please.” Said the barista.

Annie paid right away and thanked the lady before turning around and walking back to Jeff. She stiffened when she noticed a woman with dark hair and professional pant suits talking to Jeff.

“Oh, my little sunshine is back.” Jeff said when he saw Annie behind the woman.

Annie grinned awkwardly and moved again to sit in her armchair. She briefly crossed eyes with Michelle Slater but didn’t dare to look at her for too long.

“Sorry to interrupt your… date.” Michelle plainly said to Annie. “I was just walking by to get a coffee to go and I thought I’d come and say hi.”

“Of course.” Annie forced herself to say gleefully. “I like coming to this place, it’s pretty new but it’s nice.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” Michelle approved with a nod. “Their chai latte is amazing.”

“Right?? It is so good.” Annie retorted.

Michelle nodded yet again and smiled at Annie, while Jeff was silently looking at the scene, confused. Apparently, he was expecting the two women to fight over him, like Michelle had already done a few years ago with Britta, but since they were doing no such thing, he obviously didn’t know what was actually going on.

“So, Annie, right?” Michelle asked her.

“Speaking.” Annie simply answered.

“Right. Um, I was just telling Jeff about the ski trip early December, I seem to recall you’ve also signed up for it, haven’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

“Okay, well, it’s in a month now and there is some paperwork to fill in and return to administration at least two weeks before the trip. It’s mostly for insurance and stuff, but I thought you should now.”

“Sure, thanks.” Annie said, puzzled by Michelle’s initiative.

“No problem. Oh, I’ll text you the details, Jeff, because I’m not sure the Dean has already printed the whole thing and it would be too bad if you couldn’t go to the trip because of some paperwork missing.”

“Right, thank you Michelle, that is very considerate of you.” Jeff said.

“Of course. Anytime.”

Annie stared helplessly at Michelle and Jeff sharing an ambiguous kind of look, suddenly uncomfortable. The worst part was she felt her heart tightening in her chest.

“Alright, well, I’ll leave you to it, lovebirds.” Michelle then chuckled. “If we don’t randomly run into each other before, see you both at the ski trip.”

Michelle waved them goodbye and walked out of the place. At the same time, the barista brought Jeff and Annie’s drinks to their table. Jeff thanked her while Annie grabbed the teapot and poured its hot tea water into her cup.

“So, isn’t tea supposed to be in a tea bag or something?” Jeff asked Annie a few seconds later. “Like, the tea bag’s in your cup and you pour water in it?”

“Usually but here, there’s already an infuser in the teapot so you just have to pour the whole thing.” Annie softly answered, even though she kept her eyes on her cup to avoid looking at him.

“Huh. I really don’t drink tea that often.” Jeff commented out loud. “Well, I don’t know if I’ll like it but I guess I can trust you.”

“Of course you can trust me.” Annie coldly said.

Annie lifted her eyes up after talking like that and saw how surprised Jeff was. He had widened his eyes and stayed speechless for a moment. Annie cleared her throat and started stirring her tea with a teaspoon.

“Did I do something that upset you, somehow?” Jeff wondered out loud.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have talked like that.” Annie mumbled, embarrassed.

“Is it because I don’t know how tea shops work?” Jeff asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

Annie chuckled at Jeff’s clueless question and sunk into her seat, waiting for her tea to cool before drinking it. She really wasn’t able to hold grudges against him.

“It is not, Jeff.” Annie eventually answered with a smile.

“Phew, you got me worried for a sec.” Jeff teased, smiling too. “Then what is it?”

“I don’t know, I was just… I guess I wasn’t expecting Slater to kind of hit on you in front of me and it fazed me, that’s all.” Annie admitted embarrassingly.

Jeff lightly guffawed for a minute before meeting Annie’s stink eye.

“Oh you’re not joking.” Jeff commented out loud. “Wait, you seriously think she was hitting on me?”

“Well… Kind of?” Annie said in a high-pitched voice. “That look she gave you before leaving, it speaks for itself.”

“Annie, I…” Jeff began before shutting himself up, visibly taken aback. “I really think that ship has sailed since I turned her down the last time we spoke. Besides, need I remind you we’re supposedly a couple? I don’t think she’d lose her time pursuing a man engaged in a relationship.”

“I know that, but just because you turned her down a few weeks ago doesn’t mean she lost hope and no longer has feelings.” Annie pointed out, shrugging.

“Well, either way, that ship has sailed for me. I told you before, Michelle and I don’t work as a couple. Things are better the way they are right now.”

Annie reflected on Jeff’s statement and frowned. She observed him as he grabbed his milk oolong teapot and poured it in his cup.

“What do you mean?” Annie asked, confused.

Jeff put the teapot back on the table and looked Annie in the eyes. Annie tried not to lose her focus because of these hypnotizing, beautiful blue eyes of his.

“Well…” Jeff began with a wince. “I just mean things are good right now.”

“Yeah but what do you mean by ‘things’ exactly?”

“I don’t know, I just… I’m glad with how my life turned out lately. I’ll soon graduate from Greendale and be able to work as a lawyer again, I’m still in very good shape, my friends may be weird but they are great, and I like that little thing of ours.”

Annie was astounded by Jeff’s last explanation. He took a sip of his tea and cleared his throat before speaking again.

“Even though we are faking it, I still think it’s nice.” Jeff continued. “There’s something exciting about keeping a secret from the others, you know. Also, I’m going to be honest with you here, these little dates of ours are actually what I look forward to the most during the week.”

“Really?” Annie asked, her heart beating so fast in her chest she could hear it resonate in her ears.

“Yeah. I appreciate your company, Miss Edison.”

Annie lightly smiled and lowered her eyes to hide the fact that she was flattered. Eventually, she tilted her head up and tried to look assertive and confident.

“Well, I appreciate your company too, Mister Winger.” Annie retorted playfully.

The both of them exchanged a genuine smile before simultaneously holding their cup of tea and taking a sip while making eye-contact. Annie’s heart kept beating faster and louder in her chest but she decided to ignore it. She just wanted to enjoy the moment and the fact that Jeff admitted he liked spending time with her.

“By the way, I wanted to ask you a favor, Annie.” Jeff said after a few seconds of silence.

“Sure, what is it?” Annie nodded, listening carefully.

“Well… As you know, Thanksgiving is in a couple of weeks now.” Jeff pointed out.

Annie felt a lump in her throat as she nodded to let him know she was following up. Thanksgiving had never been a holiday she appreciated or an old childhood’s memory she cherished.

“So, usually, I go over to my mother’s in Denver to celebrate it.” Jeff kept on saying without noticing Annie’s discomfort. “And every year, she likes to poke me on the fact that I come alone. Without a woman, I mean. So, I may or may not have mentioned I was seeing someone the last time we spoke on the phone to avoid her snarky comments and… Well, long story short, you’re invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.”

“Wh – what?” Annie exclaimed. “Jeff! We never said anything about telling our parents about… this.”

“I know, I know, and I would totally understand if you didn’t want to come, it’s okay.” Jeff immediately said, raising his arms in defence. “But I wanted to ask you anyway. My mom was so excited when I told her I was with someone, I thought it would be nice if she met you. I wasn’t doing great last year when I visited her, so you being there with me would actually be… great. This way, she could stop worrying about me and see that I’m doing fine.”

Annie pursed her lips and thought quickly before answering. She wasn’t sure she would be comfortable playing an act in front of Jeff’s mother. She felt like it could be disrespectful and unfair towards her. But on the other hand, she could feel that Jeff actually needed her on this one and she wasn’t keen on disappointing him. Before everything, he was one of her closest friends and he had done so many things for her before. The least she could do was return the favor. Besides, how could she even say no to his adorably charming face?

“Well… I’m not saying I’m a hundred percent comfortable meeting your mother in these conditions but… Of course I’ll come with you, Jeff. Whatever I can do to help.”

“Really?” Jeff exclaimed with a wide smile. “Wow, thank you Annie, that means a lot.”

Jeff stretched out his arm in her direction and took her hand in his. He gently squeezed it and with that little gesture, Annie felt all of Jeff’s gratitude towards her.

“You didn’t have anything else planned for Thanksgiving, right?” Jeff eventually asked, letting go of her hand to straighten in his seat.

“Oh, not at all.” Annie waved off with a nervous chuckle. “I haven’t been invited to Thanksgiving at my parents’ since I left home.”

Annie casually threw this information into the conversation, since she was used to it. Therefore, she didn’t expect Jeff’s sorry eyes to lay on her.

“Annie, this is… sad.” Jeff simply said, taken aback.

“It’s not that surprising though, is it?” Annie shrugged. “Anyway, I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, there’s no rush.”

“I mean, I don’t know if I’ll _ever_ talk about it, Jeff.”

“Well… I guess it’s the perks of having a fake boyfriend, don’t you think? You can fake confide in me and it’ll stay between us. And I will never judge you, Annie. You can trust me.”

Annie felt her cheeks burning and didn’t know what else to do beside awkwardly smile. She was trying her best not to read into things and pushed aside the feelings she was having towards Jeff at the moment. She couldn’t allow herself to feel this way about him. In a month, that “little thing of theirs”, as Jeff called it, would be over. She would have to move on and forget about all these incredibly sweet and intimate moments she got to share with him. If she had feelings, it would be much more complicated and painful to forget.

“Maybe we’ll talk about this some other time, yeah.” Annie eventually said.

“Anytime.” Jeff insisted.

“So… I guess I’m spending Thanksgiving with my fake mother-in-law this year.” Annie joked.

“I guess you are.” Jeff laughed.

“It’s probably silly but I kind of hope your mom will like me.” Annie confessed shyly.

“Oh, she definitely will. What’s not to like?” Jeff told her with a smile.

Annie grabbed her cup and took a long sip to ignore the fact that Jeff’s behavior was giving her butterflies in her stomach.

***

Jeff drove Annie to her apartment around the end of the afternoon. They briefly said goodbye and she swiftly went up the stairs to Apartment 303. When she entered the room, she heard the sound of the television alongside Troy and Abed’s voices. She locked the door behind her and waltzed in their direction. They were sitting in their armchairs, attentively watching a movie on the television screen.

“Hi guys.” Annie cheerfully greeted them.

“Hi.” They answered simultaneously.

“Someone’s in a good mood.” Troy pointed out with a grin.

“Who is?” Abed genuinely asked.

“Annie, obviously.” Troy laughed.

Abed nodded to indicate he understood and focused back on the movie. Meanwhile, Annie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.

“How was your date with Jeff?” Troy asked her.

“Pretty good.” Annie responded, jiggling. “I’m going to celebrate Thanksgiving with him and his mother this year.”

“Wow, seriously?” Troy exclaimed, visibly excited for his friend. “Awesome!”

“Yeah.” Annie gleefully sighed. “It’s the first time I’m going to meet her so I’m a bit nervous but this is also exciting to celebrate Thanksgiving with new people.”

“Thanksgiving dinners are a famous movie trope.” Abed commented, his eyes still focused on the television screen. “Typically, the outcomes are either something goes wrong and everyone’s fighting, or some truths are revealed.”

Abed crossed eyes with Annie after saying that, with a meaningful look on his face. Annie raised her eyebrow at him, uncertain about the possible innuendo he was making.

“Well, I’m sure everything will go perfectly.” Annie asserted with confidence.

“Sure, why would anything go wrong?” Abed retorted.

Annie rolled her eyes but decided to ignore Abed’s subtext. She had spent a lovely afternoon with Jeff and as Troy mentioned, she was, in fact, in a good mood and had no intention of ruining it.

“Well, I’m going to go to my room, if anybody needs me.” Annie announced before turning away.

“Oh, Annie, I left something on your desk, by the way.” Troy quickly told her.

Annie frowned but kept on walking to her room to find out by herself what Troy had left for her. She closed the door behind her and looked directly over her desk. She stiffened when she recognized her stationery. Why did Troy suddenly feel the urge to give the letter back to her? Why now?

Annie wanted to negligently take the letter and throw it into a drawer that she would never open again. Alas, she didn’t have the heart to do that. Not before reading it and acknowledging one more time what Troy had read.

_Dear Troy,_

_Today, I’ve decided to write a letter to you because, as implausible as it may be, I love you, Troy Barnes. I know we never actually spent time together, or were ever friends for that matter. But it didn’t keep me from having feelings for you._

_The truth is, I’ve loved you since Riverside High. From the moment I saw you, I knew you would be important to me. You are handsome, funny, nice. The way you smile when you score at a football game melts my heart. It may seem silly but your happiness is contagious. Whenever you’re happy, I’m happy. It is probably the best way to describe love, isn’t it?_

_You never actually acknowledged me in high school. And then, we parted ways… But when we saw each other again in that study room at Greendale, the way my heart glowed and my throat tightened at the sight of you hadn’t changed one bit. For the first time in a long time, I had hope. Your happiness still made me happy._

_But, just like in high school, you didn’t actually see me. I’m grateful we became friends, even though you still don’t see the real me. The me that would do anything for you. The me that loves you with all of her heart._

_This letter isn’t just for me to express my love for you, Troy. It is also for me to accept that my love for you will forever be unrequited. For me to come to terms with letting you go._

_And I will. I promise. It might take some time, but I will let you go. I’m sure I will, because our friendship is wonderful and it is one of the best things that happened to me in a while. And I wouldn’t risk ruining it for anything in the world._

_Thank you for brightening my world._

_Sincerely yours,_

_Annie._

Annie’s hand was shaking when she finished reading the letter. Her eyes were suddenly blurry, her lower lip trembling. She sniffed and wiped a tear rolling down her cheek before opening the closest drawer she could see and putting the letter into it.

It was the last time Annie would read the letter she wrote to Troy. Because she once made a promise to herself. And she wanted to stick to it.

In an urge to comfort herself, she grabbed her phone and looked up her latest Facebook’s post. She had posted a picture of Jeff drinking his cup of tea earlier today, making a funny face to her. She managed to put on a smile and sighed.

She had made her peace with letting Troy go. However, she was afraid that ultimately, she wouldn’t be able to do the same with Jeff.


	8. Remedial Thanksgiving theory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for their support. You guys know who you are!
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter, don't hesitate to let me know what you think :)

**_ Chapter 8: Remedial Thanksgiving theory. _ **

Annie was looking at the three dresses she put down on her bed, reflective. Usually, she was rather decisive when it came to her styling options. But oddly enough, this time, she genuinely hesitated. Whether it was her cute flowery black dress, her navy blue one or the sparkly yellow skirt that matched well with her white blouse, none of them seemed good enough for her Thanksgiving lunch with Jeff’s mother.

Annie briefly took a peek at her watch on her left wrist. Jeff was supposed to come pick her up in twenty minutes and she was still in her _Lilo & Stitch_ pajamas, staring pointlessly at her outfit’s options. She sighed and exited her room to look for help.

“Abed?” Annie called out.

Just a few seconds later, she saw him coming out of the Dreamatorium room. He was dressed up in a fancy white jumper adorned by a red bow tie, along with beige pants and brown derby shoes.

“You look amazing, Abed!” Annie exclaimed.

“Thank you, Annie.” Abed responded.

“Aren’t you supposed to go to Britta’s for Thanskgiving?” Annie asked, noticing Troy wasn’t around.

“I am, I told Troy I would meet them later. Had something to do first.”

“Okay… Well, would you mind helping me pick out a dress? Jeff’s coming to pick me any second now and I’m definitely not meeting his mom wearing a shirt with Stitch sticking his tongue out on it.”

Abed nodded, thus, Annie went back to her room, followed by her roommate. They both stood in front of her bed, looking at the dresses. Abed seemed to study them thoroughly for at least thirty seconds that felt like ages to Annie. At some point, he turned his head towards her and shook his head from left to right.

“What do you mean, no?” Annie asked, confused. “I’m asking you to choose one dress out of three.”

“None of them work.” Abed honestly replied. “May I?”

He was pointing his finger towards Annie’s wardrobe, waiting for her approval. She groaned a little and allowed him to go. Without hesitation, he walked up to the wardrobe and opened its doors widely. He studied all the clothes inside for a few seconds before picking out a scarlet jumpsuit. It was tightened around the waist while the pants went puffy on the ankles. At the top, the sleeves were elegantly falling just beneath the shoulders in a distended way, with a mild cleavage that made a V-neck. He held it and showed it to Annie, who looked at it reluctantly.

“I’m not wearing that, Abed.” Annie asserted.

“Why not?” Abed asked. “You’re a brunette with pale skin, red colors look good on you.”

“Well, Britta made me buy this outfit this one time we were at the mall together because she said pretty much the same thing you just said, but I’m not sure I’m confident enough to wear it.”

“Too bad.” Abed pouted, watching the jumpsuit attentively. “It’s a really nice outfit that would highlight your beauty. Also it’s both fancy and casual, it’s a perfect outfit to wear at a Thanksgiving dinner. And you never wear that kind of clothes, so it would definitely blow Jeff away when he comes to pick you. You could do this movie trope where the guy comes to get the girl and she walks down the stairs in a stunning outfit and the guy can’t take his eyes off her because he’s in awe in front of her beauty.”

Annie mimicked Abed and stared at the jumpsuit as well, biting her lower lip in hesitation. It was a nice piece of clothing, Abed was not wrong. Moreover, Britta had kept saying how good it would look on Annie when they both saw it on display. And maybe Abed was right, maybe Jeff would be blown away at the sight of her in that outfit… Or maybe not. Annie didn’t want to daydream and pointlessly hope for things that would never happen.

“We don’t even have stairs in the apartment.” Annie eventually pointed out with a smile.

“True. But he can still be blown away from the front door seeing you walk out of your room.” Abed retorted, convinced.

Annie sighed dreamily and briefly considered the perspective of wearing that jumpsuit. At the same time, she saw her phone screen turning on and threw a glance at it. Jeff had just texted her to let her know he was about to leave his apartment. Therefore, he would be here in fifteen minutes. She didn’t have much more time to consider things, after all.

“Fine, I’ll wear it.” Annie finally conceded.

Abed nodded and handed the piece of clothing to Annie. She smiled and quickly put the dresses on her bed away in her wardrobe, before leaving the room and going to the bathroom. Abed stayed a few seconds in Annie’s room after she left and smiled to himself. Then, he walked out as well and decided to be a few more minutes late to Britta’s Thanksgiving party just so he could see Jeff’s reaction to Annie’s appearance.

***

Just when Annie made her final touch by pinning a lock of hair on her head with a clip, she heard the doorbell. She gasped: Jeff was probably here.

She quickly folded her clothes and cleared her throat, checking her look in the mirror one last time. She smiled to herself and nodded.

 _You can do this_ , she thought. _It’s just a simple meal with your fake boyfriend and his mom, what could possibly go wrong?_

This time, she heard a knock on the front door. Abed had probably already buzzed Jeff in the building, and now he was right here. She exhaled sharply and composed herself.

As she walked towards the bathroom door, she could hear Jeff and Abed’s voices from the living-room. Jeff was just trying to make small talk with Abed, but the latter kept on responding briefly, so the conversation wouldn’t last that long. Annie decided to spare Jeff and, with one final breath, she opened the door and walked in the living-room.

Annie decided to remain simple and just waved to Jeff, smiling to greet him. She saw him looking away from Abed to lay his eyes on her. She saw the way his smile faded into a quiet gasp at the sight of her. She noticed the amazement and surprise in his eyes as he was silently observing her from head to toe. He was looking at her in such an intense way she slightly blushed and pressed her hands against each other in an embarrassed way.

“Well it was worth the wait.” Abed eventually spoke up. “Told you, Annie. The stairs were definitely optional.”

Jeff threw a confused look at Abed while Annie rolled her eyes in amusement. She was certain he had stayed just to see his trope coming true. And maybe it did come true, in the end. Abed was a very perceptual person, after all.

“I should probably get going now.” Abed continued while putting his bag on his shoulder. “See you later, guys.”

He didn’t wait for either of them to answer and just walked out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. Annie and Jeff were then left alone in the apartment, and as Shirley would say, making googly eyes at each other.

“You look…” Jeff began, searching for his words. “Wow. You look incredible, Annie.”

“Thank you.” Annie cooed. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Jeff grinned and Annie took time to look at his outfit. He was wearing a blue polo shirt that brought out the color of his eyes, with black jeans and elegant blue loafers. He hadn’t completely shaved his beard, thus making him very attractive. Annie slightly shook her head to chase the thought away and focused back on the present.

“So, um, I didn’t really know what your mom liked, so I bought a bottle of white wine at the supermarket.” Annie said while pointing at said bottle on the kitchen counter. “I can’t promise it’ll taste good but I was on a low budget so –“

“Annie, it’s fine.” Jeff interrupted her with a chuckle. “You didn’t have to get anything, it’s very sweet. It’s the thought that counts.”

Annie grinned, slightly reassured by Jeff’s words. She knew it was foolish but she really wanted to make a good impression on his mother, despite everything.

“Well, we should get going soon, my mom’s expecting us around noon.” Jeff eventually said, looking at his watch.

“Oh, sure.” Annie exclaimed, running to her bedroom. “Let me just put my shoes on and I’m good to go!”

She heard Jeff approving in the distance and looked for adequate shoes in her wardrobe. She opted for a simple pair of black ballerinas with very short heels. She put them on, grabbed a purse along with a cardigan and met Jeff back in the living-room.

“Shall we?” He asked with a smile.

“We shall.” Annie replied.

She grabbed her keys and the bottle of wine before following Jeff and walking out of the apartment. Once she made sure all the lights were turned off, she locked the door and the both of them exited the building. Annie seated comfortably in the passenger seat as Jeff sat in the driver seat and started the car at once. He drove off and Annie didn’t let silence settle in between them.

“So, is there something I need to know before seeing your mom?” Annie asked Jeff. “Like, do we need to go over a detailed list of topics that must absolutely not be mentioned?”

“Honestly, my mom is a very open-minded and chill person, so you should be fine.” Jeff laughed.

“But maybe we need to agree on what we’ll say if she asks questions about us.” Annie insisted in a serious tone.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll do the talking when she asks about us.” Jeff answered.

“Oh… Okay.” Annie conceded, surprised. “Well… If we could just not mention I went to rehab for a pills’ addiction, that would be nice, though.”

Jeff didn’t answer and quickly looked at her before focusing back on the road. She pursed her lips and looked out of her window, reflective. A few minutes later, she felt her phone buzzing in her purse and took it out instantly. Troy had just texted her.

 **\- Troy,** 11.46 A.M.

_enjoy thanksgiving with jeff! we all miss both of u here_

Annie smiled and quickly typed back an answer.

 **\- Annie** , 11.47 A.M.

_Thank you, Troy! We’ll miss you all too, enjoy Thanksgiving_ _J_

She hit “send” and put her phone back in her purse. In no less than ten minutes, she would have to pretend to be the best girlfriend Jeff had ever had. Annie wondered how many women he had introduced to his mother in the past. Was she the second? Was she… the tenth? Annie didn’t want to overthink it and just looked outside distractively as they entered the city of Denver.

***

When Jeff parked his car in his mother’s driveway, Annie’s stomach fluttered. She was starting to get nervous. She exhaled sharply and as Jeff turned the engine off, he noticed it.

“Are you okay?” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah.” Annie breathed out. “Just a little nervous, I guess.”

“There’s no reason to be nervous, Annie.” Jeff assured her. “I’m sure you and my mom will get along just fine.”

“I’m just scared of saying the wrong things, you know?” Annie confessed. “Like, offending her or something.”

“Trust me, it’ll be fine.” Jeff softly asserted. “You brought a bottle of wine, there’s no way my mom won’t like you after that.”

Annie giggled under Jeff’s comforting eyes. She straightened in her seat and looked at her reflection in the sun visor’s mirror. _You can do this_ , she repeated to herself.

“Okay.” She exhaled. “Let’s do this.”

Jeff approved and they shared a handshake before getting out of the car. Jeff opened the car trunk to take a bouquet of flowers and locked the car once it was done. He walked towards the house with Annie and they both stood on the porch as Jeff rang the doorbell. They waited no longer than five seconds, as if someone was already behind the door to welcome them. The door opened up at once and Annie was now facing an elegant, gorgeous woman in her sixties.

“Welcome, you two!” A sweet voice said.

The woman tiptoed to give a kiss on Jeff’s cheek and gently patted his other cheek. Annie looked closely at her. Jeff certainly took most of his mother’s features, especially the dimples when he smiled. She had short, blonde hair with just a few grey hair in it, brown eyes and she was dressed up in a very elegant way. Annie thought she looked classy.

“How is my handsome son doing today?” She asked with a smile.

“Fine.” He briefly answered, smiling as well. “Mom, this is Annie.”

Jeff introduced Annie by putting a hand on her waist and squeezing it softly. Annie put on a thin smile as Jeff’s mother turned her head to look at her.

“Hello Annie, it is so very nice to meet you.” She said while taking Annie’s hands in hers and giving her a genuine smile.

“It’s very nice to meet you too, Mrs Winger.” Annie politely said.

“Oh please, call me Doreen.” Doreen corrected. “Jeffrey told me you were a gorgeous young lady but I thought he was exaggerating, as he usually does.”

Annie glanced at Jeff, whose cheeks she swore had flushed a little. He cleared his throat and was obviously trying to keep a straight face.

“Mom, don’t make Annie uncomfortable when you haven’t even invited her in.” Jeff told Doreen with a smirk.

“Oh right, sorry, where are my manners?” Doreen exclaimed, chuckling. “Please, come on in!”

Doreen stepped aside so that Annie and Jeff could enter. Annie took a moment to observe the room. The house was a bit old-fashioned but there was a good atmosphere regardless. The smell of turkey stuffing and mashed potatoes coming from the kitchen made Annie’s stomach growl. She grimaced but Doreen just laughed.

“Apparently, someone’s hungry.” Doreen teased Annie.

“Sorry, it just smells so good.” Annie said, embarrassed.

“Well, I hope it’ll taste just as good as it smells, then.”

Jeff nudged Annie’s elbow and when she frowned at him, he tilted his head to show her the bottle of wine that was still in her hands.

“Oh, right.” Annie said, following Doreen to the kitchen. “I hope it’s okay, I brought some wine.”

“Oh, thank you very much, Annie.” Doreen exclaimed, gladly accepting the bottle Annie was handing her. “I’ll put that in the fridge right now, we’ll open it when we’ll eat.”

Doreen did what she said and put the wine bottle in her fridge. Jeff joined them in the kitchen and rubbed his hands against each other.

“It smells amazing Mom.” He said to Doreen, who smiled. “Do you need any help?”

“Well, I already set the table but you’d be a dear if you could go to the wine cellar and get us the Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it’s the bottle of red from 2010.” Doreen asked softly.

“Gotcha.” Jeff said before walking away.

Annie watched him leaving with panicked eyes, but obviously, he didn’t notice. He was leaving her alone with his mom without even thinking. What would she even talk about with her?

“I bought it in France last year, the winemaker told me it’s a good vintage.” Doreen told Annie.

“I’m sure it is.” Annie managed to answer, trying to stay calm.

“I hope you like red wine, Annie? I didn’t even ask, I’m sorry, I tend to forget it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.” Doreen grimaced.

“Oh no, it’s okay, I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” Annie reassured her, keen on not upsetting Jeff’s mother.

“Well, if it’s not, we have a back-up.” Doreen winked while tapping the fridge’s door.

Annie lightly chuckled and tried to think of any conversation topic to initiate before Doreen could ask questions about her relationship with Jeff.

“So, Annie, Jeffrey told me you’re going to community college with him.” Doreen gleefully said before putting the ingredients to cook a pumpkin pie on the countertop.

“I am.” Annie answered, trying to sound casual.

“How is it going for you back there?” Doreen asked her.

“Well… It’s pretty good, actually.” Annie honestly answered. “Most classes I’m taking are very interesting. In fact, I was originally majoring in hospital administration but this year, I’ve decided to change my major and I chose criminology.”

“Ooh that sounds very exciting!” Doreen said with a smile. “What career prospects are you considering after you graduate, then?”

“I’m not sure yet. But I think I’d love to work in forensics. You know, examining evidence, solving crimes.”

“It’s a very interesting idea. Well, I hope you’ll figure it out soon and that you’ll do what you like.”

Annie smiled more genuinely, this time. Jeff was right, Doreen seemed like she was a very nice and open-minded person. Besides, she had been more supportive about Annie’s career prospects in thirty seconds than her parents had ever been since she enrolled in community college three years ago.

“Wh – what about you, Doreen?” Annie eventually asked to make a polite small talk. “Are you currently working?”

“I am, I’m still six years away from retirement, you know.” Doreen chuckled, already baking a pumpkin pie for dessert. “I’m a landscape designer, I have my own business.”

“Oh wow, that is great!” Annie exclaimed sincerely. “Are you doing, like, people’s gardens or something?”

“Not necessarily but it is mostly what I’m doing, yes. From time to time, people reach out to me for, you know, housing parties or wedding decorations, for instance.”

“Wow, it must be so nice.”

“Actually, I have a binder somewhere where I put most of my projects and photos, if you’re interested, I’d be more than happy to show it to you later.”

“I would love that.”

Doreen and Annie smiled at each other when Annie heard footsteps behind her. She turned around to look at Jeff, walking in their direction with a bottle of wine.

“You have an alarming amount of wine bottles in that cellar Mom, are you sure you’re living on your own, you’re not hosting a bunch of thirsty winemakers in there?” Jeff joked as he gave the bottle to Doreen.

“What’s the point of having a wine cellar if it doesn’t have an appropriate amount of bottles in it, Jeffrey?” Doreen teased back.

“She still hasn’t shared embarrassing childhood memories with you yet, has she?” Jeff asked Annie while putting his hand on her waist.

“What kind of mother do you think I am, now?” Doreen ironically took offence. “I’m obviously saving those for dessert.”

Annie burst out laughing as she listened to Jeff and Doreen gently bickering. Now, she knew why she could feel a good atmosphere in this house. Doreen was such a lovely and warm person, her positivity radiated all around her.

When Doreen was done baking her pumpkin pie, she grabbed a bottle opener along with the bottle of wine Jeff had brought from the cellar and the three of them moved from the kitchen to the living-room. They sat down at the dining table, on which Doreen had put a lovely arrangement. Annie’s nervousness was completely gone. She just felt delighted and eased at the moment.

Around 1 P.M., Doreen took the turkey out of the oven and laid all the food she prepared on the table. They started eating, enjoying the food. Jeff and Doreen were doing most of the talking as Annie was carefully listening and making comments from time to time when her opinion was required. She preferred it this way. Besides, Jeff was incredibly adorable with his mother and Annie didn’t get tired of watching him at any moment.

However, at some point, Doreen probably realized she still hadn’t asked _the_ question and her face suddenly lit up with excitement.

“I can’t believe I forgot to ask you that.” Doreen exclaimed, gently hitting her forehead.

“What are you thinking?” Jeff asked her, wiping his face with a napkin.

“Well, I want to know how this sweet relationship of yours has blossomed, of course.” She softly answered.

Jeff and Annie shared a meaningful look at Doreen’s enquiry. Annie discreetly nodded to him to confirm what they talked about in the car before coming. Jeff then knew he would be the one to put on a show for Doreen.

“Always so curious, Mom.” Jeff teased, taking a sip of wine.

“Excuse-me for wondering how this lovely lady got interested in that mopey face of yours.” Doreen joked, which made Annie chuckle.

“To be honest, I still don’t know myself.” Jeff laughed.

“In that case, maybe Annie can tell me.” Doreen retorted.

Annie widened her eyes when Doreen focused on her, encouraging her with a smile. Jeff was supposed to do the talking, she didn’t know what to say!

“Oh, I don’t know, Jeff’s better at telling stories than I am.” Annie improvised with a nervous laugh.

“We’ll see about that after you tell us your side of the story.” Doreen insisted with a wink.

Annie was cornered. She looked helplessly at Jeff, who simply encouraged her with a confused grin. She was all alone on this one. She had to make something on the spot that would be convincing enough to satisfy Doreen’s curiosity. And like she said, Jeff was way better at telling stories than she ever was.

“Um. Okay.” Annie conceded with a forced smile on her face. “Well... Um…”

Annie was trying to think fast. What could she possibly say to be persuasive in her story-telling? She met Jeff’s eyes, unconsciously looking for an answer in them. He was smiling at her. Annie eventually smiled back and knew what she had to do. What better way to convince someone than telling the truth? Well, more or less, at least.

“Jeff and I met a few years ago already, but we started off as friends first.” Annie began explaining as Doreen and Jeff carefully listened to her. “Well, at least, Jeff saw me as a friend, I think.”

“You didn’t?” Doreen asked, hanging on Annie’s every word.

“I did but… To be honest, it wasn’t long until I wished Jeff would see me as more than a friend.”

Annie looked at Jeff again and she saw how intensely he was looking at her. Her last statement seemed to startle him but regardless, he still quietly encouraged her to keep talking.

“Anyway, we weren’t there yet.” Annie continued, softly chuckling to shake the nervousness out of her system. “But over the years, we shared a lot of intense moments, if I can put it like that. One of our friends who’s passionate about movies actually refers to it as ‘sexual tension’. It sounds silly but… I don’t know how to phrase it otherwise.”

Annie was afraid she would offend Doreen by saying that but she was relieved to see her laughing. She breathed out and kept on talking.

“Another one of our friends said we were making ‘googly eyes’ at each other. So we had a few moments like that, apparently. I wasn’t necessarily acting on them because at the time, I didn’t know if Jeff felt the same way about me and I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself or to jeopardize the well-being of our group by pursuing him pointlessly.”

Annie noticed Jeff seemed moved by her speech. She cleared her throat and continued.

“So, because I didn’t want to suffer and I thought it would be best to move on, I… wrote Jeff a love letter.”

“Really?? Wow, that is original, to say the least.” Doreen commented, fascinated by Annie’s explanation.

“Yeah, I’m sort of old-school romantic.” Annie giggled lightly. “But I wasn’t going to send the letter. It was more of a way for me to write my feelings away, so to speak. I wrote everything I felt for him at the time and when I signed the letter, I put it away in a box, as if I had put my own feelings away. I don’t know if that makes sense but it actually helped me move on for a while.”

Doreen nodded, expectantly waiting for the outcome. Annie breathed out yet another time and decided to finish up her story.

“Sadly, I don’t know how, someone found the letter and mailed it.” Annie continued. “Jeff got it, he read it, and then, he came to me so we could talk about it. I was reluctant at first because I was ashamed and embarrassed. Can you imagine? Jeff had actually read what I felt for him. Awkward. Anyway, we still talked about it and… Oddly enough, we decided it would be nice to give a shot. Try it. A relationship, I mean. And… Here we are today.”

Annie looked at Jeff to acknowledge his reaction to her truth-falsified story. He stared quietly at her for a while, but eventually, his lips broke into a light smile. Much to her surprise, he reached out for her hand and held it in his. Her heart fluttered when she felt his fingers touching hers.

“Well, isn’t this an adorable love story?” Doreen sighed, smiling. “It was very brave of you to write your feelings down, Annie. I’m curious to see what you’ve said in that letter to my son.”

“Sorry Mom, that’s between Annie and me.” Jeff stepped in while Annie nervously smiled.

“Relax, I was joking!” Doreen laughed. “Annie’s a smart girl obviously, I’m sure her writing style is impeccable.”

“Oh it is. I could never pull off something like that.” Jeff asserted with a grin.

Annie sighed happily and lunch kept going peacefully. When they were done eating dessert, Doreen got up right away and brought old photo albums to the table so she could show Annie some pictures of younger Jeff. The three of them had lots of laughs as Annie made her signature “aww” at Jeff’s baby pictures, or teased him with his mid-twenties ones. The afternoon went by in a blink of an eye, and when it was already beginning to get dark outside, Jeff decided it would be best if they headed back to Greendale. They helped Doreen clean out the living-room and the kitchen before taking their coats and heading outside. Doreen followed them to the car to say goodbye.

“Thank you so much for coming, it was a lovely Thanksgiving day.” Doreen said while hugging Jeff.

“Thank you Mom for that delicious meal, you are still quite the cook.” Jeff told her as he was hugging her back.

“I certainly hope you got my cooking skills.” She teased him before moving towards Annie.

Doreen silently observed Annie, which startled her for a bit. Eventually, Doreen smiled and took her in her arms. Annie felt moved by that gesture and hugged Doreen back without even hesitating.

“You are a wonderful young woman, Annie.” Doreen told her in confidence. “I am truly happy my son found someone like you. I can tell he’s very fond of you.”

Annie’s heart glowed in her chest when she heard that. When she parted from Doreen, Annie tried to repress the happy tears she could feel coming in her eyes.

“Now now, I didn’t want to make you cry, you poor thing!” Doreen exclaimed, which made Annie laugh.

“No it’s okay, I’m just a very sensitive person.” Annie explained.

“I can see that. Well, I stick to what I just told you.”

“What did you tell her?” Jeff asked, curious.

“That’s a secret between Annie and me.” Doreen teased him.

They said one last goodbye before Jeff and Annie got back into the car and drove away. Doreen was waving at them when Jeff moved the car back in the driveway to get back on the road. Annie waved at Doreen too until she became a tiny dot in the distance.

The car drive was silent until they got back to Greendale. Eventually, Jeff cleared his throat and Annie knew he was about to say something.

“Thank you for today.” Jeff told her.

“You’re very welcome, Jeff.” Annie retorted with a smile. “Your mother is an incredible woman.”

“She certainly is. I told you you two would get along.”

“Well, I really had a great time so thank you for inviting me.”

“Technically, my mom invited you but you’re welcome.”

Annie giggled as Jeff parked his car on the street in front of her building. He stopped the engine, however, Annie didn’t get out of the car just yet and Jeff didn’t ask her to. They stayed still, in silence, for a few seconds.

“What you told my mom about how we got together…” Jeff eventually began saying, apparently hesitant.

“Yeah?” Annie encouraged him to pursue.

“Did you mean what you said?” Jeff asked.

They locked eyes with each other and Annie felt like her heart was melting in her chest. She saw something in Jeff’s eyes, a tenderness and consideration she had never seen before and she wasn’t sure how to interpret it. What she was sure about, however, is the effect it had on her.

“I meant all of it.” Annie answered honestly.

Jeff didn’t answer right away but Annie saw his eyes lingering on her lips sometimes. Her stomach fluttered and she tried her hardest not to give in and grab him by the collar, the way she did when she kissed him in front of Troy.

“Annie Edison, you’re making it very hard for me not to break our eighth rule, you know.” Jeff admitted with a grin.

Annie’s heart was beating so fast at the moment she thought it was trying to escape from her chest.

“Yeah… I’m making this very hard for me too, actually.” She whispered.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Jeff ultimately sighed and looked away.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you next week for the ski trip.” He said.

“Yeah… See you next week, honey buns.”

Jeff chuckled and the sound of his laugh at the moment was a treasure to Annie’s ears.

“Puppy bear _and_ honey buns.” Jeff commented. “Wow, you never cease to amaze me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I let my creativity take the lead regarding Doreen's personnality, since we don't actually see her on the show. But how I described it is how I would picture her :)
> 
> For anyone interested, my inspiration for Doreen actually came from the show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. I pictured very easily Mary Steenburgen as Jeff's mother.


	9. Introduction to having fun at a ski trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SKI TRIP IS HERE!  
> So, initially, I wanted to get it in one chapter, but as it turns out, it would've been way too long in just one chapter (probably 10k or so...) Then, I decided to split the ski trip into 2 chapters. This is the first one here, hope you'll enjoy it and have fun reading it!
> 
> (As usual, shoutout to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for their support and encouragement. They are the best, you should come and join us!)

**_ Chapter 9: Introduction to having fun at a ski trip. _ **

It had been a week since Annie celebrated Thanksgiving with Jeff and his mother. A week since Annie felt like she was constantly walking on air. A week since Jeff’s words kept on playing again and again in her mind.

_“Annie Edison, you’re making it very hard for me not to break our eighth rule, you know.”_

The first thing Annie did when she woke up on that early Saturday morning was re-read the dating contract.

  1. **NO STRINGS ATTACHED**



Did it mean that Jeff started to, unlike the rule clearly stipulated, have feelings?

No. Annie couldn’t allow herself to think such things when she was about to spend an entire weekend with him.

Luckily, the whole study group was joining them for this trip organized by the school’s “Travel & Outdoor activities” club. Therefore, it probably wouldn’t be too awkward for Annie to spend so much time with Jeff. Too awkward or too tempting. She could swear they were a moment away from kissing when Jeff took her home on the way back from Denver the other week.

Besides, Annie couldn’t help but re-read the rule above the one she just read.

  1. Contract to be annulled **after** the ski trip



Theoretically, it meant that when they would come back from the ski trip, they would have to fake break up. Annie wasn’t one hundred percent sure she wanted to do that. She had to get comfortable with the idea first. And protect her feelings. At all costs.

She stopped daydreaming when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Slumped on her bed, she straightened and sat normally before answering.

“Yes?” Annie asked loudly.

The door opened as Annie was now facing Troy. He was wearing a red ski hat along with the top of a ski suit. Annie couldn’t help but chuckle when she saw that.

“You know, you can wait until we’re at the ski resort to wear that.” She pointed out.

“Huh? Oh yeah.” Troy said, taking the hat off. “I just wanted to see if it fit.”

“Have you and Abed finished packing?” Annie asked him seriously.

“Almost.”

“Okay, don’t forget we need to meet everyone at the school at 8, the bus leaves at 8.15.”

“We know, don’t worry.”

“And it’s already 7.15 so we need to leave the apartment in twenty minutes.”

“Yes Annie, we will, now can I ask you what I originally came in to ask?” Troy retorted, impatient.

“Oh, sorry. Sure, shoot.” Annie giggled.

Troy briefly closed his eyes and entered Annie’s room before closing the door behind him. Annie watched him quietly, noticing he seemed on edge.

“Is everything okay, Troy?” Annie asked, worried.

“Um. I don’t, I don’t know, I…” Troy stammered, pacing around.

Troy was definitely upset about something. Annie frowned and stood up to face him.

“Do you need my help on something?” She insisted softly to soothe him.

“Can you promise you won’t say anything if I tell you?” Troy asked her, ignoring her question.

“Um… Okay. You can trust me.” Annie replied hesitantly.

Troy exhaled and moistened his lips before talking. Annie was starting to fear something bad had happened.

“I think I want to break up with Britta.” Troy blurted out.

Annie didn’t know what she expected but she certainly did not expect that. She gasped out of surprise while Troy was looking at her with puppy-dog eyes.

“What happened?” Annie squealed, shocked. “You two looked so happy together.”

“We… had fun.” Troy retorted. “I love Britta but… I’m not _in love_ with her. You know what I’m saying?”

Annie pursed her lips, unsure about what she was supposed to say. She didn’t even know why Troy came to tell her that in the first place.

“So yeah, I don’t know, I think it’s probably best if I break up now.” Troy said when he noticed Annie wasn’t answering.

“Troy! We are about to spend an entire weekend all together, are you sure this is the best time to break up with your girlfriend?” Annie pointed out. “She’s going to be devastated.”

“Oh. Right. I hadn’t thought about that…” Troy muttered, reflective.

“Look, I get that the situation is probably confusing for you but… Maybe try and see how the weekend turns out before doing anything?” Annie suggested in a high-pitched voice. “I mean, maybe you’ll have a great time and then, you won’t want to end things between you and Britta. Maybe try having a very romantic time with her, take her to dinner, spend time just the two of you... You know, anything to reignite the flame.”

“Yeah… Maybe you’re right.” Troy shrugged, obviously not convinced.

“Just… give it a shot, okay? Give it two more days and then, you’ll do what you think is best.”

“Okay… You’re right, I don’t want to ruin the weekend for Britta or anyone else. Thank you Annie!”

Troy was smiling from ear to ear again and his smile softened Annie, as it always did. He came closer to her to give her a quick hug, that she accepted joyfully. When they parted, Troy sighed, as if he was relieved from a huge burden.

“Okay, now, go go go, finish packing!” Annie exclaimed, slightly punching him in the shoulder.

“Yes Ma’am, will do!” Troy said solemnly.

Annie laughed as Troy exited her room. Once she was alone again, she reflected more seriously on her conversation with Troy and suddenly felt guilty. She would have to keep yet another secret from Britta and not reveal what Troy had just said about possibly wanting to break up with her. This weekend was definitely going to be challenging…

After every roommate in Apartment 303 had finished packing, they left the apartment at precisely 7.39 A.M. and headed to Greendale Community College. Most people were already there, such as Leonard, Vicky, Garrett, Magnitude, Neil, Annie Kim… and of course, Michelle Slater. Annie stiffened when she recognized the latter in the crowd. Abed noticed it almost right away.

“Your rival is here.” He pointed out, looking at Michelle Slater.

“She’s not my rival, Abed.” Annie retorted.

“This is going to be an interesting weekend.” Abed added.

Annie didn’t answer because she just spotted Shirley in the crowd and immediately ran to her, while Abed and Troy blindly followed her.

“Oh, hi An-nie!” Shirley cooed when she saw her coming from afar.

“Hi Shirley!” Annie exclaimed once she was in front of her.

“Hello boys.” Shirley added with a smile when Troy and Abed arrived. “We’re still missing Jeff, Pierce and Brit-ta, aren’t we?”

“Right here.” A voice mumbled behind them.

The three of them turned around to face Britta, who looked like she had been to hell and back. She was wearing sunglasses even though it was cloudy, she had a huge cup of coffee-to-go in her hand and her hair was tied up messily in a neglected pony tail.

“Don’t ask.” She scolded immediately when she noticed her friends’ inquisitive looks.

“Looks like someone had something much more fun to do than sleeping last night.”

“Ugh, shut up Pierce, it’s not funny!”

Britta was giving a stink eye at Pierce, who had just arrived and laughed lightly, probably proud of his own joke. Annie quietly observed how Britta and Troy interacted with each other. They barely said good morning to one another and Britta just gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning around and drinking her coffee silently, ignoring everyone else around her. Annie frowned – so much for reigniting the flame between them…

Around 8.10, the Dean Pelton made a quick announcement to remind everyone that the bus would be leaving in five minutes and that they could already hop on it. Annie looked in the distance: Jeff was still missing. She hoped he wouldn’t miss the bus. Her heart ached a little at the thought of not spending time with him this weekend.

“Ah, Jeffrey, how noble of you to honor us with your presence.” Craig Pelton suddenly said. “I have to admit, I was starting to fear you wouldn’t be here this weekend.”

Annie turned around, her eyes filled with excitement. Jeff was walking in their direction, briefly waving to the Dean after he announced his arrival. Annie’s heart fluttered when he looked at her and smiled. She tried to compose herself and remember what she had in mind just this very morning – they would have to fake break up after the ski trip, she couldn’t allow herself to have feelings…

“Good morning, cute eyes.” Jeff told her once he was closer.

Jeff took Annie in his arms in a tender way and gently kissed her. She didn’t even flinch and kissed him back. So much for not having feelings.

“Aww, look at these two.” Craig awed. “Adorably annoying. Well, now that our VIP is here, why don’t we all hop on this bus before it leaves, huh?”

The other students followed Craig and entered the bus. Jeff quickly put his suitcase along with everyone else’s in the luggage compartment; then, he took Annie’s hand and they were both the last ones to get on the bus. The Greendale 7 managed to get their seats close to each other. Britta sat down next to Shirley while Troy and Abed sat next to each other on the opposite alley. Right behind Shirley and Britta, Jeff and Annie sat down together. As for Pierce, he mumbled something about being left alone, as usual, before sitting down on his own in the seat behind Troy and Abed. The bus shortly drove off and everyone started chanting:

“Ski-trip! Ski-trip! Ski-trip!”

“Alright alright alright.” Craig Pelton said in the microphone with a soft laugh. “I have to say, your enthusiasm is really sweet, Greendale students. So, remember that we have a two-hour drive to the ski resort, we will have a quick stop on the road at a gas station in an hour for the people who need to use the restroom, no need to worry. And please, don’t damage anything on this bus, we are on a low budget this semester, I’d rather get the school’s deposit back. Alright, I think that’s it, if you have any question, please, don’t ask me, I’m going to take a nap now, but feel free to come and talk to Stuart, our Travel & Outdoor activities’ president, who sits just in the front row on my left.”

After that, Craig put away the microphone and sat down behind the bus driver, taking a tiny pillow out of his bag and putting it against the window to rest his head on it. Michelle was next to him and just started reading a book.

Every student talked out of excitement and the bus wasn’t completely quiet until at least fifteen minutes. Annie was resting her head against Jeff’s shoulder as she admired the landscape throughout the window. She could hear him quietly talking to Pierce but she didn’t listen to what they were saying. She was just enjoying the moment, and more precisely, enjoying the few hours she had left as Jeff’s girlfriend. And she intended to treasure them.

At some point, Jeff stopped talking and rested his head on Annie’s. She looked away from the window to get a glimpse of Troy and Britta. They didn’t even sit next to each other, as Troy had immediately run to sit next to Abed. It didn’t seem like Britta cared, though, as she was switching between scrolling down her apps on her phone, talking briefly to Shirley and sleeping a little. It did seem like she had a rough night and Annie couldn’t help but wonder what happened for her to be like this.

After an hour, the bus driver stopped at a gas station, like the Dean said, and most people went out to get to the toilets or to buy some snacks in the shop. Pierce was the first one to stand up, saying something about a “pee-pee emergency”. The others didn’t look like they wanted to get off the bus. After all, it was already starting to get really cold outside and the heat was too comfortable to leave. Regardless, Annie saw Britta taking a pack of cigarettes along with a lighter out of her bag and getting off the bus to go and smoke one.

“I thought Britta had quit smoking.” Annie commented out loud.

“She had.” Jeff confirmed. “She kind of looks like a mess today, though.”

“Yeah… I hope everything’s okay.” Annie whispered, concerned for her friend.

“Looks like a classic hangover to me, she probably just had too much to drink last night when she was working at the bar, she’ll be fine.” Jeff assumed, shrugging.

Annie didn’t say anything else on the subject and just closed her eyes, still resting on Jeff’s shoulder. It felt nice and cosy, she didn’t even want to get off the bus. She could stay here, like this, forever.

“By the way, I had my mom on the phone yesterday, she says ‘hi’.” Jeff told Annie after a few seconds of silence.

“Oh, thanks, that’s so nice.” Annie softly said. “You’ll tell her I said ‘hi’ too.”

“Well, I already told her that, because she assumed you were sleeping over at my place.”

“Right… Obviously.”

Annie briefly chuckled but in reality, she felt odd. Not once in these past months of fake dating had she been sleeping at Jeff’s apartment. They had talked about it and even though it wasn’t stated in the dating contract, they still agreed it would probably be a little over the line. Therefore, Annie had often lied about staying over at Jeff’s from time to time, because she knew that Troy and Abed never really noticed if she was at the apartment or not. Usually, Jeff would take Annie out on a date night on the weekends and would drive her back to Apartment 303, where she would come back quietly. She had gotten used to opening doors very silently and walking stealthily to her room. Whether Troy and Abed were watching TV, enacting movie tropes in the Dreamatorium or just sleeping, she usually managed to be quiet enough so that they wouldn’t notice her. And so far, it worked.

That’s why hearing Jeff saying he told his mother Annie was sleeping over felt weird to her. They had really become comfortable with their lie. How were they going to make everyone buy their breakup when they seemed so good with each other?

Once everyone was back on the bus, the driver started the engine and they drove for another hour before finally arriving at Breckenridge Ski Resort. After getting their suitcases back, they all stood in front of the hotel, waiting. The Dean along with Stuart, the club’s president, were the first ones to go in to make the check-in at the reception and get the bedroom’s keys.

“This is so exciting, we’re going to have a girls’ night!” Annie exclaimed to Shirley and Britta with a wide smile.

“I can’t believe they’re making a same-sex room organization, I feel like I’m on a high-school trip.” Britta grunted. “I mean, we’re all adults here, having an organization based on gender is so reductive and –“

“And she’s back.” Jeff interrupted her, to which Britta glared at him. “I see you’re feeling better now.”

Britta stuck her tongue out at Jeff while he smirked. Annie was disappointed neither Britta nor Shirley seemed excited about sharing a room with her, thus, she remained silent afterwards.

A few minutes later, the Dean walked out of the hotel, visibly upset.

“Well, it seems like we have a tiiiiiny teensy little problem.” He said with a grimace. “We were supposed to have three four-people bedrooms and six three-people bedrooms but apparently, the hotel didn’t get our request in time and everything got messy.”

“What does it mean?” Michelle asked, frowning.

“Well… Instead of the four-people bedrooms, they gave us six double rooms… for couples.”

Some people complained loudly to that announcement because they were planning on having groups’ hangouts in their rooms. Pierce railed unnecessarily violently.

“We were about to have a real men’s night.” Pierce revolted, pointing at Jeff, Troy and Abed, who were raising an eyebrow. “We would have drunk fine Scotch and drunk-dialled a stripper. You ruined it!”

“Oh come on, I obviously didn’t do it on purpose.” Craig retorted, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Besides, I wouldn’t have been interested in doing any of these things, Pierce.” Abed pointed out as Troy nodded to approve.

“Okay, I mean, it’s not that big of a deal, Craig.” Michelle intervened with a calm voice. “There are, after all, some couples among us, I’m sure they’ll be delighted to be able to share a room together.”

“But what about our unisex organization? I looked it up on the Internet and they said it’s better to separate boys and girls on a school’s trip.” Craig pointed out.

“Yes, for teenagers.” Michelle lightly chuckled. “Everyone’s an adult here, I’m sure it’ll be fine Craig, don’t worry.”

Craig pouted and seemed to be reflecting for a while. Annie noticed Michelle glancing at Jeff for a few seconds but she didn’t want to acknowledge it. It was _her_ weekend. She wanted to have fun and enjoy. She wouldn’t let anything ruin it.

“Well, in that case, I guess it’s okay if we go a little crazy then.” Craig eventually giggled. “Alright, I’ll leave you all a few minutes to decide who shares a room with whom, Stuart will pass out a list to you, please, write your names down in your appropriate choice of room, it’ll be easier for us and the reception.”

As the Dean said, Stuart immediately gave a list with the organization of the bedrooms to a group of students, excited to share a room together.

“Good thing there are still three-people bedrooms, we can still do our girls’ night.” Annie told Britta and Shirley with a light laugh.

Annie felt confused when she noticed Britta and Shirley raising an eyebrow at each other before looking back to her, frowning.

“What did I say?” Annie asked.

“Um… Well, I guess we just thought you’d take the occasion to… share a room with your boyfriend.” Britta explained while Shirley nodded.

Annie realized quickly what was going on and suddenly, she could hear her heart beat very loudly in her ears. She crossed eyes with Jeff, who looked just as disconcerted as her.

“I mean, I’m probably going to share a room with Troy.” Britta added. “It seems logical.”

“Um… Actually, Brit-ta, would it be fine if we shared a room instead?” Shirley asked her shyly. “Because if you share a room with our dear Troy, that means I’ll have to share a room with Pierce and I don’t really feel comfortable with that idea.” Shirley then added with a deep voice.

“Oh, sure, if you’ll feel more comfortable, of course Shirley.” Britta immediately said. “Is that okay, Troy?”

Annie closely observed Troy’s reaction. He didn’t even look like he was actually listening to the conversation, therefore, Abed nudged him and Troy finally acknowledged Britta.

“Huh?” Troy said.

“I asked you if it was okay if I shared my room with Shirley instead of you tonight.” Britta repeated, visibly annoyed.

“Oh. Um, sure, fine by me.” Troy said. “I’ll share a room with Abed, this way.”

“And me.” Pierce added with a grin.

“Sure… I guess we won’t have a choice, either way.” Troy retorted with a frown.

“Okay, so it’s settled.” Britta exclaimed while clapping her hands once. “I’ll share a double room with Shirley, then Troy, Pierce and Abed will get a three-people bedroom, and Jeff and Annie will obviously be in another double room.”

Everyone approved and nodded, apart from Jeff and Annie, who shared helpless looks with each other. How would they be able to get out of this mess without blowing their cover?

“Hey Garrett, can you give us the list?” Britta asked. “We’re all set here.”

Annie stared at the piece of paper Garrett handed to Britta with horror, as Shirley took a pen out of her purse and gave it to Britta so she could write their names on it. Annie wanted to scream, to object. But she did nothing. She did nothing and just watched Britta writing her name next to Jeff’s on the double room’s organization.

***

Once it was all set, everyone got their rooms’ key and had time to sort their bags and suitcases in their bedroom before putting their ski suits on and going skiing. Annie and Jeff took their key, walked up the stairs and entered their bedroom without saying a word to each other. Annie felt like her stomach was tied into multiple knots and she had no idea what she was supposed to do. She and Jeff sleeping in the same bedroom would definitely not help to restrain her feelings or to make the incoming breakup seem believable.

“So…” Jeff eventually said, sorting his clothes in his suitcase. “What do we do now?”

“Um… I don’t know.” Annie admitted, defeated. “I got so thrown off earlier I didn’t know what to say.”

“Yeah… Me too.” Jeff grinned. “I didn’t want to look suspicious.”

“Same. Although… It’s kind of stupid, considering we’re supposed to end this when we come back from the trip.”

Annie expected Jeff to say something about her remark but he remained silent and didn’t agree nor disagree with her on the matter. Taken aback, Annie quietly looked at him taking his ski suit out of his suitcase. When she understood that he wouldn’t say anything else, she ran a hand through her hair and started sorting out the clothes in her suitcase as well.

“Obviously, I’ll take the couch tonight, I don’t want to make things weird between us.” Jeff eventually said before heading to the bathroom to change his clothes.

“Wh – Jeff, there’s not even a couch here, it’s a simple armchair, you can’t sleep there.” Annie protested.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, Annie.” Jeff retorted from the bathroom.

“It doesn’t make me uncomfortable, Jeff.” Annie asserted. “I mean, we are two responsible adults, I’m sure we can sleep in the same bed without any ambiguity. Right?”

Jeff didn’t answer right away, which made Annie think that she probably wasn’t very convincing. After all, she wasn’t convinced herself.

“Sure.” Jeff eventually replied. “You’re right, we’re two responsible adults. We’ll manage.”

“Right. Exactly. Besides, it’s just for one night, it’ll be fine.”

Annie rose her head up to see Jeff in the bathroom’s doorway, looking at her. He wasn’t fully dressed yet and was only wearing his ski pants, therefore, Annie’s eyes accidentally landed on Jeff’s bare chest. She lingered for a few seconds on his abs before she cleared her throat and shook her head to gather her thoughts.

“Glad we’re on the same page.” Annie said, trying to sound confident.

“Yeah, likewise.” Jeff told her before stepping back into the bathroom.

Once Jeff was out of sight, Annie sighed and felt her cheeks blushing. She could do it. No strings attached. Fake break-up after the ski trip. Sleeping in the same bed. Nothing could turn out wrong in that scenario, obviously.

***

Around 11 A.M., everyone was ready and met in the hotel’s lobby before going to the resort and renting skis along with cable-car tickets to freely move around the numerous ski slopes. Some people headed straight towards the Green Circle as they were not experimented skiers, while some others aimed for the Blue Square. Pierce insisted on going to a Double Black Diamond, however, the other members of the study group were strongly opposed to that idea.

“Pierce, you’re not in your thirties anymore, going to a very difficult ski slope can be potentially dangerous for you.” Jeff pointed out in all seriousness.

“Jeff’s right, there’s no way we’re going to that slope, Pierce.” Britta approved.

“I don’t care what you think, you dingbats.” Pierce grumbled. “I once spent an entire winter skiing with wife number four so it’s not a little steep track that’ll scare me. I’m a real man.”

“Wow, an elderly man having a four years-old tantrum, classic Pierce.” Jeff teased him.

“I’m not elderly! Suck it, all of you!” Pierce hollered.

Pierce grabbed his skis and with his ski cap falling gradually on the right side of his head, he walked away towards the cable-car that would take him to a Double Black Diamond slope. Britta sighed and Shirley rolled her eyes at Pierce’s behavior.

“Don’t worry, when they’ll see this old wreckage up there, they’ll probably send him back to the Green Circle’s.” Jeff commented.

Everyone shrugged and while Troy, Abed and Shirley decided to go the easiest slopes, Jeff, Annie and Britta wanted to try out the Blue Square’s ones. The group separated and as Jeff was walking faster than Britta and Annie, the two of them found themselves walking next to each other. Annie took that chance to meddle, even if she knew it was probably not the best idea.

“So, how come you didn’t go with Troy back there?” Annie asked casually.

“Oh, I already went skiing a few years ago with a bunch of anarchist friends, so I didn’t want to go back to square one.” Britta simply responded.

“I see. And, um, you’re not too disappointed you won’t get to share a room with him tonight?” Annie insisted, curious.

“Well, obviously, I would’ve liked it, you know. When we spend the night together, either we’re at your apartment so there’s no intimacy, or I’m working late at the bar and when I come home, Troy’s already asleep. So it would’ve been nice for once to have an actual romantic weekend. But you know, Shirley’s my friend and I wasn’t going to leave her in a weird situation. Can you imagine, sleeping in the same room as Pierce? Ugh.”

“Oh… Well, in that case, do you want us to switch? Maybe you can have our double room instead, Jeff can share the room with Abed and Pierce and I’ll share with Shirley. This way, you get to have your romantic getaway with Troy.”

“Why are you suddenly so curious about my relationship with Troy?”

Annie was taken off guard by Britta’s brutal question and stiffened for a while. Britta stopped walking as well and expectantly looked at her.

“I’m just… I feel a little guilty Jeff and I got to have the double room and you couldn’t do the same with Troy.” Annie made up on the spot.

“Okay but we also said we didn’t mind.” Britta reminded her. “I mean, I appreciate the thought, Annie, but there’s no need to worry about the romance in our couple, we’re fine.”

Annie didn’t add anything and just started walking again, instantly followed by Britta. Jeff was already a few steps ahead of them, therefore, they started walking a little bit faster to catch up with him.

“What about you?” Britta then asked Annie. “Is everything good between you and Jeff?”

“Um… Yeah, pretty good.” Annie replied, unsure.

“Why were you so eager to switch rooms then?”

“I don’t know, Britta, I was just trying to be nice and give you the possibility of spending some actual time alone with your boyfriend, sorry if that offended you.” Annie scolded, suddenly hurt by Britta’s tone.

“Wow, Annie, I’m not offended at all, why would you think that?” Britta immediately exclaimed, stepping in front of her friend to look at her in the eyes. “You just looked a little bit upset right there so I just assumed maybe something was off.”

“Everything’s great, no need to make assumptions.” Annie told her.

“Great. It’s exactly the same thing for me so I guess it’s all good.” Britta retorted with a smile.

Annie softened up a little and managed to put on a smile. Britta tilted her head towards Jeff to suggest that they should start moving again, therefore, they both walked at once. Annie was smiling but she was still a little concerned. She didn’t know how to make things better between Troy and Britta without too much interfering. Obviously, Britta didn’t suspect a thing, if Troy decided to break up with her ultimately, she would definitely be flabbergasted. And heartbroken.

“I feel like I’m being followed by a couple of snails.” Jeff suddenly said after turning around and smirking at Annie and Britta.

“Maybe your giant legs could slow down a little to let us catch up with you.” Britta yelled at him, which made Annie laugh.

Jeff stopped for a few seconds to give Britta and Annie the time to arrive next to him, then, the three of them started walking, the ski slopes not too far from them. Jeff put his arm around Annie’s shoulder while they were walking and he smiled at her when they shared a look.

“Is everything okay?” He asked her.

Annie nodded, then, Jeff gently tickled the tip of her nose with his glove still on, making her sneeze. They both laughed and arrived shortly to their destination. They strapped their skis to their shoes and descended the ski slope a few times, having fun and fooling around.

***

The day quickly went by. Everyone skied one hour in the morning, then went to a restaurant to have lunch, chilled for a couple of hours afterwards before going back to ski or to sled. Around 5 P.M., it was already starting to get dark outside, hence the Dean Pelton urged everyone to go back to the hotel and rest before getting ready for dinner followed by a party in the hotel’s dining room.

Since Jeff was having a beer with Pierce, Annie was the first one to get back to their room. She took advantage of the fact Jeff wasn’t here yet to take a shower, wash her hair and put on some clean clothes. She decided to wear a light blue sweater with casual jeans. While she was drying her hair, she heard the door unlocking.

“It’s me!” She heard Jeff’s voice.

“I’m in the bathroom!” Annie yelled to cover the sound of the hairdryer.

Once her hair was dried a few minutes later, she turned off the hairdryer and got out of the bathroom. Jeff was lying on the bed, scrolling through Facebook on his phone.

“I’m done with the bathroom, if you need to go.” Annie told him.

“Great, thanks, I’m dying for a shower right now.” Jeff said before putting his phone down and getting up.

Jeff looked at Annie after he got up and lightly smiled.

“What is it?” Annie asked, curious.

“Nothing, it’s just… You look nice.” Jeff told her.

“Oh.” Annie let out, awkwardly smiling. “Thank you. I didn’t put too much effort into it, though. It’s just a casual outfit.”

“Well, you don’t need to try too hard to look good.”

Annie felt her cheeks burning and nervously twirled her hair around one finger. Jeff then walked towards the bathroom and locked himself in it. Annie heard the shower running and sat down on the bed. She took a book out of her suitcase and decided to read a little to change her mind. She had time to read two chapters and a half before Jeff finished showering and got out of the bathroom. She lifted her head up to watch him walking to the closet where he had put his clothes into, wearing nothing but a towel tied around his hips. She immediately looked back down on her book and tried her hardest to focus on the lines she was reading and not glancing at him.

“I’m not sure what to wear tonight.” Annie heard Jeff sigh.

“Just keep it casual, it’ll be fine.” Annie blurted out.

“Yeah, I’m going to go with the flannel shirt and some jeans.”

Annie heard him taking out some clothes and going back to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. She tried to compose herself and forget about the sight of Jeff, half-naked in front of her.

“Um, so how was it with Pierce?” Annie asked him with a loud voice.

“It was fine.” Jeff replied from the bathroom. “He kept on rambling about how they wouldn’t let him go down the Double Black Diamond because he wasn’t experimented enough or something. He ended up on the Green Circle’s slope with Troy, Abed and Shirley, but apparently, they still had some fun.”

“That’s sweet.” Annie said sincerely.

“Yeah, and then, Michelle joined us for a drink, we had a nice talk.”

Annie was about to turn over a page of her book when she heard that, then, her hand froze in the air. She felt a lump in her throat as she tried to compose herself and not let Jeff know that her heart ached a little when he talked about Michelle.

“Sweet.” Annie managed to say, her voice breaking. “What did you talk about?”

“Nothing very interesting, really. She told us about this new school project she’s working on.” Jeff casually answered, apparently failing to notice Annie’s discomfort.

“Cool.” Annie simply said.

Jeff walked out of the bathroom at this moment, fully dressed. Annie tried to ignore him as he sat down next to her and took a peak at her book.

“What are you reading?” Jeff asked her.

“Nothing very interesting, really.”

Annie couldn’t believe she had been that petty. Maybe Jeff wouldn’t notice she used the exact same words as him a few minutes ago? Unfortunately, when she saw the look on his face, she could tell he most definitely noticed it.

“Annie, are you… jealous of Michelle?” Jeff asked her.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” Annie muttered, ashamed.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Jeff pointed out.

“Well… Fine, maybe I _am_ a little jealous.” Annie then admitted. “You have history with her, she’s closer to your age, and she’s gorgeous and intelligent. And I know it doesn’t make sense for me to be jealous because we’re not actually dating but I can’t help it.”

Jeff sighed and looked in the distance. Annie felt utterly bummed – she had probably made it awkward between them. Jeff would surely want to end their agreement earlier than expected. The prospect of enjoying one last weekend as his fake girlfriend was now fading into thin air.

However, much to her surprise, Jeff eventually looked back at her and dived into her eyes. He didn’t look upset, annoyed or embarrassed. On the contrary, he looked… amused?

“You’re so cute right now.” Jeff told her with a smile.

“How is me being jealous cute?” Annie exclaimed, dumbfounded. “It’s not funny, Jeff.”

“I never said it was funny. I just think it’s adorable. I didn’t think you would be jealous.”

“I didn’t want to be. But… With you, I’m not rational anymore. And I’m so mad at myself because we said we would end this crazy fake relationship thing by the time we get back from the ski trip, it was established from the beginning, and yet, I still couldn’t have control over my feelings.”

Yes, she had feelings for Jeff. So be it. She shouldn't have to endure it alone, he might as well be aware of it. Jeff stayed silent for a few seconds until Annie saw a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. What did he have in mind?

“Well… Since we’ve apparently broken one rule already… Why not break another one?” Jeff suggested with a smile.

Annie was confused, but also curious. He used the pronoun "we". Were they even thinking about the same rule?

“We don’t have to end this after the ski trip.” Jeff added when he noticed Annie wasn’t answering. “We could… extend it. You were right earlier, it wouldn’t make sense either way if we broke up right after this trip when we shared a room and everything.”

“You would… agree to keep on going with this?” Annie asked, disconcerted.

“I mean… I don’t mind it. We had such a great time at my mother’s last week, she absolutely adored you, and… To be honest, I think I’m a fan myself.”

“Of what?”

“Of you, smarty pants.”

Annie was absolutely awe-struck. Was she dreaming? Was Jeff actually saying all these things to her? It felt so unreal. Yet, when she met his eyes and saw how soft they were, she knew it was all happening for real, and she didn’t mind. The opposite.

“So, to sum up, you’re saying we could… cancel rules seven and eight of our contract?” Annie said in a high-pitched voice, overly emotional.

“I’m saying we could see where this is going. This weekend, at least. It’s working so well between us and the others would definitely find it weird if we stopped right now. So… What do you think?”

Annie knew she would probably regret this, eventually. She couldn’t lie to herself anymore, she most definitely felt something for Jeff. Something she didn’t want to feel. Something that scared her. But now that he was willing to extend the longevity of their dating contract… Why not give it a shot? Why not stop overthinking and just live in the moment?

“I think… we should meet the others downstairs and show them all how happy we are together.” Annie playfully said.

Jeff smiled when he understood the innuendo. Two minutes later, they were both walking out of their room, hand in hand, ready to meet everyone else in the dining room. Annie was no longer dreading the moment she would have to share a bed with Jeff later on that night. She just felt light-hearted and happy that he implied he might have feelings too. Even though he would probably not admit it out loud.


	10. Intermediate romance trope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter gets reaaaally fluffy!! To be faithful to the movie To All The Boys I've Loved Before, you are more than welcomed to listen to the song "Lovers" by Anna of the North during the last part of the chapter hehe I know I did while writing it to set the mood. But enough about my rambling, hope you'll enjoy the chapter!
> 
> (As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for supporting me and helping me with my endless grammatical questions and everything. They are the best!)

**_ Chapter 10: Intermediate romance trope. _ **

Annie didn’t remember the last time she had felt this happy.

She was having dinner in the hotel’s dining room with all of her dearest friends and classmates, during a fun trip at a ski resort. Later on, they would be partying before having yet another day of skiing and having fun. What more could she ask for?

When dinner was over and everyone finished eating, the tables were pushed against the walls to make some space for an improvised dance-floor as Magnitude got behind the turntables and put some music on. The lights in the room were dimmed and some of the Greendale students started dancing. Britta took Annie’s hands to take her to the dance-floor, which made her laugh joyfully. The others quickly joined them and as they were fooling around, Annie realized how truly lucky and grateful she was at the moment.

It wasn’t long until Pierce felt tired and headed back to his room to rest. Shirley did the same thing half an hour later, along with a few other students, who had a long day and wanted to sleep. After she wished Shirley a good night, Annie went to the bar to order a cocktail. It would be the only one she would be drinking this night, because she absolutely didn’t want to end up the way she did at the blind test party. The Dean and Michelle Slater were sitting next to the bar, talking to each other. When Annie noticed them, Michelle was looking at her and she smiled. Annie politely smiled back, even though she wasn’t too comfortable.

“So, Miss Edison, how is this trip going for you so far?” The Dean asked loudly to cover the music.

“It’s going great.” Annie answered loudly as well. “We really had fun today.”

“Good, good, happy to hear that. At least, it was money well sp –“

“Craig, stop talking about the money and enjoy.” Michelle interrupted him with a light chuckle.

“Oh but I am enjoying.” Craig retorted, putting the straw of his cocktail to his mouth. “And also, Annie, I hope Jeffrey is treating you well.”

“Oh, he is, don’t worry.” Annie giggled. “He’s very sweet.”

“Good for you!” Craig exclaimed with a wide smile. “How lucky you are…” He added more silently.

Annie decided to overlook this remark and just glanced at Michelle, out of curiosity. She didn’t seem full of spite or hateful towards Annie. She was simply smiling at her, a smile that looked genuinely comforting. The second the bartender gave Annie her cocktail, she awkwardly waved at Craig and Michelle before walking back to her friends. She saw Troy and Abed doing the twist contest’s dance scene from _Pulp Fiction_ while Jeff and Britta were just talking to each other. Annie noticed Britta seemed a bit tipsy by the way she was laughing at everything Jeff told her and the look in her eyes.

“Hey, Annie’s back!” Britta suddenly exclaimed, taking Annie in her arms.

“I was just gone for five minutes.” Annie pointed out, even though she was amused by Britta’s behavior.

“Well, it was the longest five minutes ever.” Britta retorted, stressing the last ‘r’ in ‘ever’. “Right, Jeff?”

“It definitely was.” Jeff chortled, amused.

“Oh, you know what we should do?” Britta said with excitement.

“No but I have a feeling we’re about to find out.” Jeff answered ironically while Annie was smiling.

“We should totally go outside and… build a snowman!” Britta exclaimed with a drawling voice. “What do you think?”

“I think it must be very cold outside and you’re not in your right mind right now.” Jeff honestly told her.

“Pfff, Jeff Winger is a wuss who’s afraid he’s going to catch a cold.” Britta taunted him in a singing voice.

“Okay, fine, you want to go outside? Let’s go to our rooms and get our coats first.” Jeff retorted with a furrowed brow.

“Woo-hoo! You coming, Annie??”

Britta put her glass down on the nearest table and instantly headed towards the stairs. Jeff followed her while Annie hesitantly followed his lead. She was not entirely sure she wanted to go outside this late at night. Besides, she thought she heard someone saying it started snowing.

They got to Britta’s room first on the second floor. She tried to enter the bedroom as quietly as possible, since Shirley was already sleeping. Jeff and Annie waited for her in the hallway, throwing amused glances at each other.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go outside with Britta in this state?” Annie whispered to Jeff.

“Don’t worry, the minute she’ll set foot outside, she’ll want to get back inside.” Jeff asserted, smirking.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Annie chuckled.

They heard a loud “bang” in the room followed by Shirley mumbling something about the Lord testing her. Just a few seconds later, Britta walked out of the room, struggling to hold her coat, her hat and her gloves in her arms. She managed to lock the door and showed a goofy smile to her friends.

“You know you have to put them on before we go outside, right?” Jeff teased her.

“I’m not an idiot, Jeff!” Britta complained. “Why don’t you shut your stupid mouth and go get your own coat now?”

Jeff laughed and told them to wait for him in the lobby while he walked to him and Annie’s room on the third floor to get their coats. Britta and Annie went down the stairs and patiently waited for Jeff there. Well, at least, Annie was patient. Britta was jumping up and down.

“Should we tell Troy and Abed we’re going outside?” Annie eventually asked, looking for them in the distance.

“Absolutely not, I just want to be with you and Jeff.” Britta retorted, pouting.

“Oh. Okay. Maybe I’ll text them to at least let them know where we are.” Annie said while taking her phone out.

“Pfff, as if Troy cared about my whereabouts now.” Britta bitterly said.

Annie looked up from her phone and stopped typing to look at Britta. She was now very still and seemed to be pensive. Annie felt sorry for her friend, since she was definitely aware of what was going on in Troy’s mind, however, she promised him she wouldn’t tell anyone. Therefore, she had to act clueless so that she wouldn’t raise questions.

“I thought you said everything was great between you two earlier.” Annie mentioned casually.

“Yeah, well, I lied, Annie.” Britta scoffed. “Adults lie. All the time. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

Annie stiffened, hurt by Britta’s tone. She knew she shouldn’t take it personally because Britta was obviously inebriated, thus, she was probably not thinking straight, regardless, her words still sounded a little bit offensive. Annie felt like Britta was infantilizing her and she hated it.

“You know, can I confess something?” Britta asked a few seconds later, as if their previous conversation never happened.

“Sure.” Annie said, frowning.

“You and Jeff are sooo cute together.” Britta said before wincing. “Oops, sorry, I almost burped but I held it in.”

“You think we’re cute?” Annie asked, surprised by that confession.

“Of course you are!” Britta exclaimed joyfully. “Which is kind of surprising because I never thought you two would work, to be honest. I didn’t even buy it at first.”

“Yeah, that was pretty obvious, Britta.” Annie pointed out.

“Oh, was it? Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything but… You know, I was just… worried about you.” Britta mumbled, suddenly looking tired.

Annie raised her eyebrows at Britta’s statement while the latter was sitting down on the floor, back against the wall. Annie was utterly surprised – Britta, worried about her? She needed to know more, and she was very aware of the fact she wouldn’t get anything out of Britta once she would sober up, so she had to be quick.

“Why were you worried about me?” Annie asked, slowly sitting down next to Britta.

“Duh-doy!” Britta exclaimed, making Annie jump out of surprise. “Because! Sorry to remind you this but I used to hook up with Jeff and I know how he can get.”

“Meaning?...” Annie insisted, confused.

“Do you really want me to get into the details?” Britta asked her with a smirk.

“Not like the details-details.” Annie immediately riposted, cheeks slightly blushed. “But how was he with you that got you worried for me in the first place?”

“Well, as I’ve already mentioned in the past, he could get pretty… selfish in bed.” Britta answered, pursing her lips. “Gee, I’m so thirsty right now, I should find some water…”

“He was selfish?” Annie insisted, trying to ignore Britta’s constant switching gears.

“Yeah, you know, because we weren’t serious or anything, he would just… think about himself and then, it’d be done. And he wasn’t always very considerate, like, he was one of these typical straight men who doesn’t think pleasuring the woman he’s sleeping with is important or whatever.”

“Huh. I see.”

“But hey, I’m guessing, and I’m hoping, that he’s changed since then. But I can tell he’s different now. Which is why I’m no longer worried for you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because Annie, have you seen the way he looks at you? Wow, I don’t think anyone has looked at me the way Jeff looks at you since… Well, since forever, actually.”

Annie was trying to focus on Britta’s rambling, even though it was probably mostly nonsense, but her heart fluttered suddenly and then, she couldn’t think straight anymore.

“The way he looks at me?” Annie repeated, her voice shaking from the emotion.

“Yeah, dumb-dumb.” Britta giggled, gently pushing Annie’s shoulder with hers. “He looks at you like you’re his whole world. I know I sound really dorky right now but it’s true. Gosh, I should never drink again, listen to what I’m saying…”

Annie was over the moon. If Britta, the cynical one of the group, thought Jeff was looking at her like this, maybe it was true. Or maybe she was just rambling because she was a bit drunk. Annie would rather the first option be true, in any case.

“Point being, I was initially worried for you, which is why I wasn’t really… thrilled when you guys broke the news to us.” Britta kept saying. “I mean, come on, you’re Annie freakin Edison! You’re one of the smartest, most reasonable young woman at this freak show that is Greendale’s community college. But also, you’re so sweet and kind, like, I wouldn’t want someone taking advantage of you, you know.”

“Aww Britta!” Annie squealed, moved by her friend’s speech. “Do you mean it?”

“Of course I mean it. And because of that, I was worried being with a guy like Jeff, whom I’ve known to be quite self-centred, was eventually going to be a let-down for you. You know, because you’re so romantic, dreaming of Prince Charming or whatever. And however silly I think that is, nobody should take that fantasy away from you.”

“Britta, I didn’t know you were feeling this way. I don’t know what to say, I’m…”

“Hey, don’t start crying, otherwise, I’ll start crying too, alcohol makes me emotional.” Britta interrupted her.

Annie started laughing, quickly mimicked by Britta. Annie was a little bit teary-eyed but mostly soothed. This whole time, she thought Britta was disappointed in her and secretly hating her, when in fact, she was just worried for her well-being. Annie was not used to people caring for her like this. It must have been what being friends with someone really meant. Worrying, wanting what’s best for them.

“I’m glad we had this conversation, Britta.” Annie told her with a smile. “It really cleared the air.”

“Yeah, you should probably know I was also a little bit jealous too, though.” Britta winced.

“Really? Of what?” Annie asked, suddenly nervous.

“Of your relationship with Jeff. I’m not jealous that you’re with Jeff, I don’t care, that ship has definitely sailed.” Britta instantly ensured. “I was, however, kind of jealous about how… in love you two look like. Especially since the blind test party. We were never like that with Troy and sometimes, I feel like we’re just friends with benefits, not an actual couple.”

“Britta, I’m sure that’s not true.” Annie softly said, feeling sad for Britta.

“Yeah… Whatever. Doesn’t matter anyway, I don’t want to talk about it.” Britta grumbled, pressing her head against the wall.

Annie didn’t know what got into her at that moment but she swooped down on Britta to give her a hug. A comforting, genuine hug. Eventually, Britta gave in and hugged Annie too. It felt nice and Annie wished Britta would have more of this sensitivity on a daily basis, because she was truly an amazing person and she felt lucky to have her as a friend.

“I leave for two seconds and you’re having a heart-to-heart talk, ladies?”

Annie and Britta parted to look at Jeff, facing them with a smile. He was holding his coat under his left arm while Annie’s was under his right arm.

“What took you so long, fart-face?” Britta taunted him, getting back up.

“I… couldn’t find Annie’s coat at first.” Jeff said while Annie also got back up. “But here I am now. Still want to go build a snowman, Elsa?”

“Hell yeah!” Britta exclaimed before rushing outside.

Britta quickly put on her coat and opened the hotel’s front door. A freezing cold then entered the lobby, the one to take a breath away. Annie saw Britta put her gloves on and immediately kneeling to make snowballs.

Then, she observed Jeff. Even though Britta was clearly rambling, she still pointed out something relevant. Jeff had taken a surprisingly long time just to get two coats. And he also looked a little bit off. Annie wondered if something happened while she was having an honest conversation with Britta.

“Are you okay, Jeff?” Annie asked her, putting her hand on his arm.

Jeff laid eyes on her and just like that, he looked like his usual self again.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” He asked her back, smiling. “Come on, let’s go outside and keep an eye on Britta before she engages in a snowball fight with a random person walking by.”

Jeff straightened his right arm towards Annie so she would take it. Hesitant at first, she took his arm gallantly and they both went outside with Britta, as Annie was making lots of different assumptions in her mind.

***

As Jeff had predicted, it wasn’t long until Britta was cold and tired, thus wanting to go back inside. She insisted on taking a picture of their ridiculously tiny snowman because she thought it looked beautiful. Therefore, Jeff took a picture with his phone and promised he would sent it to her if she agreed to go to bed. Reluctant at first, she nodded, because her snowman really was the cutest out there, according to her. Along with Annie, Jeff walked Britta back to her room and waited for her to lock the door before agreeing she was now in a safe place.

“Phew, this one’s a piece of work sometimes.” Jeff joked while walking away with Annie.

“Yeah…” Annie just whispered.

“Is everything okay?” Jeff asked her, looking concerned.

“I’m just… I’m a bit tired, I think I’m going to go to bed.” Annie lied with a weak smile.

“Oh. Okay, I get it.” Jeff simply said.

Annie wasn’t sure but it looked like Jeff was… disappointed?

“You’re heading back to the party?” Annie asked, curious.

“Nah, I actually think the party’s over now.” Jeff winced, scratching his neck. “I… There’s just something I wanted to do first before going to bed. But it’s good, this way you can fall asleep before I go to bed, so we can avoid any awkwardness or whatever.”

“Oh. Right. Great.” Annie said in a detached manner.

Jeff just nodded and waited a few seconds before nervously saying goodbye and going the opposite way. Annie watched him walking away, a bit disillusioned and confused. It looked like something happened while he went to get their coats earlier and she had no idea what it could be, but he certainly looked weird now.

Annie walked back to their room, defeated. She quickly brushed her teeth and undressed to put on some pajamas and lie in bed. Her eyes were wide open, since she wasn’t near being tired. She couldn’t get Jeff off her mind and it was starting to get really frustrating.

After a few minutes of internal torment, Annie heard a knock on the door. Startled at first, she slowly got up and walked to the door. Was it Jeff coming back? Why would he knock if he had his own key?

Unsure, Annie opened the door and frowned out of surprise.

“What are you doing here, Abed?” Annie asked.

“Why aren’t you with Jeff?” Abed bluntly asked her.

“Wh – I’m sorry, would you mind answering my question first?” Annie retorted, annoyed.

“I’m here because you’re not with Jeff.” Abed answered.

“Well, not that it’s any of your business but he had something to do and… I wanted to go to sleep.” Annie said, crossing her arms on her chest to hide her discomfort.

“I know that, I ran into him in the hallway and he said he wanted you to come with him.”

Annie stared at Abed in disbelief at this revelation. A bunch of different scenarios ran through her head but she tried to ignore them and focus on Abed.

“Really? Did he say what he wanted to do?” Annie asked Abed, hopeful.

“No. He just said he was going to the rooftop.” Abed said. “I’m assuming he was planning a big romance trope.”

“Romance trope?” Annie repeated.

“Yeah, the typical romance trope that always happens on a trip. Which is why I don’t understand why you didn’t go with him. It potentially ruins everything.”

“He… didn’t ask me to, actually.”

“Because he was probably expecting you to join him eventually. The romantic trope always works. Look at _Love Actually_. Rick Grimes managed to confess his love to Keira Knightley, even though her husband was not far.”

“I’m not following, Abed…”

“He pretended he was a Christmas carols’ singer to show Keira Knightley a sort of love letter he had written down on cue cards. And she was moved. Hence, the romantic trope always works.”

Annie was aghast. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Abed would mention this particular film along with the term ‘love letter’. He perfectly knew what he was doing. Abed was clever, imaginative. Nevertheless, Annie wanted to go along with it because she couldn’t think of anything else besides Jeff being on a rooftop, waiting for her.

“So are you going to see Jeff or what?” Abed eventually asked.

“I’m… I don’t know, I guess I… I guess I am.” Annie stammered, disconcerted.

“You should go now. He’s not going to wait forever. And the moment will pass.”

Annie nodded uncertainly and without thinking, she grabbed her coat along with her keys before turning the lights off and exiting the room. She locked the door and looked at Abed, who had a furrowed eyebrow.

“Thank you, Abed.” Annie said with a smile.

“Sure.” Abed simply answered before walking away.

Annie instantly went to the stairs and walked them up until the last floor – the rooftop. Her heart racing in her chest, she opened the door and looked for Jeff. She rapidly spotted him. He was inside what looked like a glass igloo. She could see him through the glass, sitting on a pillow on the floor next to a fireplace, looking reflective. Annie didn’t hesitate before walking to him and bent down in order to go inside the igloo.

“Hey there, stranger.” Annie softly greeted him.

Jeff seemed like he was coming back to Earth and when he noticed Annie, his eyes sparkled and he smiled from ear to ear.

“Hey you.” Jeff said as Annie was sitting down next to him. “How did you know I was here?”

“Abed told me.” Annie answered with a chuckle.

“Right. Always here to play matchmaker, this one.” Jeff chortled.

“He definitely is.” Annie sighed dreamily. “How did you find this place? It’s amazing.”

“Well, I was wandering around the hotel earlier after I had a beer with Pierce and I found this.” Jeff answered with a shrug. “I thought it looked cool. And I also thought you would love it.”

“I do. It’s so cosy and unique. You know me so well.”

“Well, after three months of being your fake boyfriend, it’s only natural.”

Annie giggled and silently admired the place. There was a light-string towering over the place and it looked so holidays-at-a-cottage-like that Annie felt at peace. The place was lovely, she was with Jeff – everything was perfect.

“Jeff, were you… waiting for me to come with you earlier?” Annie eventually asked him, lifting her eyes up to look at him.

“Uh… I don’t know, I… Maybe?” Jeff answered with a light laugh. “After spending so much time babysitting drunk Britta, I thought it would be nice to be just the two of us, you know.”

Annie laughed at the mention of Britta and her eyes met Jeff’s. She felt something different than usual that night. Something she had already felt when they were dancing together at the blind test party…

“We could’ve… hung out in our room, though.” Annie pointed out, nervously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah but isn’t it better to hang in a place like this?” Jeff commented, looking around him.

“Oh, it is, for sure. But… The place also kind of looks… romantic.”

Jeff looked back at Annie after she said that. She noticed they were subconsciously getting closer to each other, slowly breaking the inches separating them. Annie’s heart was beating so loudly she was afraid Jeff could hear it.

“You’re right, it kind of does.” Jeff approved a few seconds later.

They were not breaking eye contact as they were moving closer and closer to each other. Annie could feel some electricity in the air and it was breath-taking.

“Um, well, doesn’t it bother you? It could also go against the rules, us being in that kind of place.” Annie managed to say before moistening her lips.

“Honestly, Annie, right now, I could break all of our rules and I wouldn’t even care.” Jeff bluntly said.

“Wh – what do you mean?” Annie whispered, out of breath.

Annie never heard any kind of response, since Jeff had stopped talking and just closed the gap between them to press his lips against hers. It wasn’t like all of these times he was kissing her to make a show in front of the others. This time, it felt sincere. And Jeff’s lips against Annie’s was such an exhilarating feeling that she didn’t hesitate to kiss him back to let him feel what she was feeling. They were kissing each other in a romantic setting and it was so perfect she never wanted it to end.

Usually, their kisses would be sweet, tender, quick. It had to go according to rule number one. But this time, it was nothing like their first rule stipulated. This time, Annie was ecstatic. This time, she shuddered with pleasure when Jeff put his hand in her hair to get her even closer to him. This time, she ran a hand in his hair because she wanted to fully grasp the moment.

After probably just a few seconds that felt incredible regardless, Annie parted from Jeff and waited a bit before opening her eyes again. She wanted to enjoy the moment just a big longer. When she opened them again, Jeff was looking at her like he was swept off his feet.

“I, uh…” Annie began, cheeks flushed from the emotion. “I guess we broke maybe a rule or two, now.”

“We definitely broke half of them today, honestly.” Jeff corrected, out of breath.

There was just a slight moment of silence before Jeff and Annie started laughing together. It was sweet and genuine, and they didn’t care about the rules anymore.

“Annie, did you come up here in your pajamas?” Jeff then asked after he saw her sweatpants.

“Actually, I did.” Annie confessed with an embarrassed smile.

“We should get back to our room before you catch a cold.” Jeff then said.

Annie went out of the igloo first since she was the smallest. Jeff struggled because of his height, which made them both laugh heartily. They went back into the hotel and walked to their room in a comfortable silence. Once they were in the bedroom, they took off their coats and sat awkwardly on the bed, next to each other. Annie felt light-hearted and happy, but also shy. What would happen next?

“I think I should give you something now, Annie.” Jeff suddenly said.

Annie’s eyes followed Jeff as he stood up and went looking through his bag. He took something out of it and walked back to Annie. He handed her something. A piece of paper. A pink one.

“Wh…” Annie began, speechless.

She took the piece of paper and observed it from all angles. It was, without a doubt, her love letter to Jeff.

“Why are you giving it back to me now?” Annie asked, confused. “I thought you wanted to keep it.”

“I was mostly just messing with you.” Jeff admitted after sitting down again. “But I could tell you really wanted to get it back, so… Here it is. I was waiting for the right time to give it to you.”

“Jeff, I… Thank you, I really appreciate it.” Annie said, holding the letter against her chest.

“Of course. Anything for you.”

Annie sighed happily and dropped the letter on the bed to grab Jeff’s face and kiss him passionately. He kissed her back without any hesitation, making the moment blissful. He parted from her a few seconds later to dive into her eyes.

“Should we completely cancel the contract and just…” Jeff started asking.

“I say we forget about the contract. What do you think?” Annie interrupted him, feeling like she was walking on air.

“I think… we should sleep on it and figure it out tomorrow.” Jeff suggested, more down-to-earth.

“Yeah… That’s a good idea.”

They smiled at each other and kept on kissing, again, and again, until they both felt tired and fell asleep into each other’s arms.


	11. Basics of figuring things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone reading, commenting and leaving kudos, I really appreciate your feedback and it makes me want to write more :)
> 
> As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fic channel for encouraging me and inspiring me. They are the best!

**_ Chapter 11: Basics of figuring things out _ **

When Annie woke up on that Sunday morning, she had briefly forgotten where she was. She was sleepy still and took a few seconds to completely open her eyes while she was yawning. She wanted to do her usual waking-up routine, which was stretching and straightening before getting out of bed. However, she wasn’t able to do so, since she eventually noticed there were two arms wrapped up around her.

Only then, she fully remembered where she was and why. It wasn’t long until her lips turned into a huge, genuine smile at that realization. She softly turned around to face Jeff. He was sound asleep, undoubtedly peaceful. They were so close to each other his breathing was tickling her neck. Before getting out of bed, she decided to lie back down, head on her pillow, and silently admire Jeff sleeping. Just for a few seconds.

She couldn’t believe what had happened the night before. She had met him in this magically romantic place on the rooftop, he had kissed her, they had decided they could probably forget about the contract and then, they went to bed together and fell asleep into each other’s arms. It almost sounded too good to be true, and yet, here she was, waking up into the arms of the man she – not so secretly – had feelings for.

Eventually, Annie lifted herself out of Jeff’s hold and got out of bed as quietly as possible, in order to avoid waking him up. She grabbed some clothes in her suitcase, walked stealthily to the bathroom and took a quick shower before putting her clothes on, brushing her teeth and adjusting her hair. Only fifteen minutes later, she walked out of the bathroom, ready to go downstairs for breakfast. Jeff was still asleep, and she didn’t know whether she should wake him up or not.

Then, out of the blue, she reasoned like Abed would in these kind of situations and surprisingly thought about something she would always see in the romantic movies. A _trope_ , if you will. Therefore, she headed back towards the bed, lied down again, face to face with Jeff. She cleared her throat and started gently brushing Jeff’s face with her fingertips, all the way from his forehead until his chin. In a matter of seconds, Annie saw Jeff’s eyelids shudder before his eyes completely opened afterwards.

Just like Annie twenty minutes ago, Jeff was visibly trying to wake up entirely and figure out where he was. When he did, he locked eyes with Annie, who kept on brushing his face. He didn’t seem to complain and just smiled at her, at peace.

“Hey.” Jeff told Annie in a hoarse voice.

“Hey.” Annie repeated softly.

“Did you sleep well?” Jeff asked her.

“Could not be better.” Annie answered with a smile. “You?”

“Same, actually. I thought I was having the nicest dream when I woke up and saw that gorgeous face of yours but it’s so much nicer to realize that it’s happening for real.”

Annie was ecstatic. She could have definitely imagined it was all a dream herself but waking up by Jeff’s side was, in fact, reality. And she had rarely been happier than she was at the moment.

“How come your breath smells this good in the morning?” Jeff then asked her with a furrowed eyebrow. “And… your hair looks this nice? And also, you’re already dressed?”

“I _maaaay_ have woken up twenty minutes ago and came back to bed after I had a shower to pretend to wake up next to you.” Annie admitted with a wince. “I know it’s stupid but I wanted to –“

“Feel like a movie?” Jeff interrupted her with a smile.

“Y – yeah.” Annie stammered, surprised. “In rom-coms, the girl usually brushes her teeth and does her make-up before coming back to bed and pretending to wake up at the same time as the guy.”

“Your jeans and sweater gave you away, because I remember you coming to bed with those red sweatpants with reindeers on it yesterday.” Jeff teased her.

“Hey, don’t make fun of my reindeers, they’re adorable!” Annie pretended to take offence before chuckling.

“Oh I never said they weren’t.” Jeff asserted with a false serious tone. “Anything looks cute on you, so it goes without saying.”

Annie giggled and before she was able to say anything else, she felt Jeff’s hand settling on her lower back to pull her closer to him and kiss her. Their lips mingled nicely and Annie let herself go to fully enjoy the moment. She grabbed Jeff’s face between her hands without breaking away from him. The taste of his lips on hers was so delightful she wanted to feel every second of it.

It wasn’t long until the kiss became more heated and passionate. Annie let her tongue slide into Jeff’s mouth and she was thrilled that rather than pushing her away, Jeff bit her lower lip in excitement. _And there goes rule number one_ , Annie thought.

At some point, when the tension became too suffocating, Annie parted from Jeff, trying to catch her breath. When she opened her eyes to look at him, she could see the spark in his eyes.

“Well, that was…” Annie began, trying to gather her thoughts.

“Something… interesting.” Jeff finished her sentence, out of breath.

“Yeah, exactly.” Annie approved with a nervous chuckle.

“Should we do that more often?” Jeff asked with a smirk.

“Well, if we want to figure… _us_ out, it could definitely help, I think.” Annie replied half-seriously half-playfully.

“Good thinking, that’s what I thought too.” Jeff said similarly.

They both laughed before kissing each other again. They were interrupted just a few seconds later by three loud knocks on the door.

“Knock-knock-knock, rise and shine, my dean friends!” They heard from the other side of the door.

“Seriously?” Jeff complained, visibly frustrated.

“It is now 9 A.M., time to get breakfast before leaving the hotel at 10 A.M. and going for one last ski session!” The Dean kept saying with an excited voice.

“For God’s sake, Dean, can’t this announcement be made around breakfast where everybody will be?” Jeff scolded.

“Sorry for making sure everyone is cared for, Jeffrey.” The Dean retorted coldly before walking away.

“It’s okay Jeff, we had to get out of bed eventually.” Annie softly tells him.

“I know that but skiing seems incredibly boring compared to staying in bed all day kissing you.” Jeff pouted.

“Aww!” Annie exclaimed before pressing her lips against Jeff’s.

Jeff put his hand in Annie’s hair while they were kissing when there was another knock on their door.

“Oh come on, really?” Jeff huffed after parting away from Annie again.

“Hey lovebirds, you’ll have other opportunities for a lazy morning, come and get breakfast with us!” Britta’s voice said from the hallway.

“We’re coming!” Jeff yelled towards the door before sighing.

“I wish we could stay here all day.” Annie said disappointingly.

“Me too, trust me.” Jeff grumbled.

They both pursed their lips before Jeff finally got out of bed, shortly mimicked by Annie. He went to the bathroom and showered quickly while Annie was making sure all of her belongings were in her suitcase. When Jeff got out, fully clothed, her suitcase along with her bag were checked and packed. Therefore, they both exited their bedroom and walked down the stairs to join everyone in the hotel’s dining room to have breakfast. When they arrived, all of their friends were already there, eating.

“Well, about time.” Britta teased Jeff and Annie when they sat down in front of her.

“Good morning, Britta, it is lovely to see you too.” Jeff told her ironically before pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Did everyone sleep well?” Shirley asked with a soft voice.

“Not so much.” Troy answered honestly, looking annoyed. “Turns out Pierce is a loud snorer when he drinks booze.”

“Hey, I told you I wasn’t snoring, it’s how a real man sleeps!” Pierce revolted.

“Yeah, whatever.” Troy simply replied.

“So, Britta, how does it feel to be hangovered twice in two days?” Jeff asked Britta with a smirk.

“You can stop with the smug face Jeff because at the risk of disappointing you, I’m perfectly fine.” Britta contradicted.

“Oh is that so? Then you probably won’t be interested in seeing your selfie with Susan the snowman.”

Britta stuck her tongue out at Jeff while Troy, Pierce and Abed laughed at the mention of a snowman. The group continued having breakfast while casually throwing banters at each other. Around 9.30, everyone had to get their suitcases out of their room and give the keys back to the reception. They put their suitcases in the luggage compartment of the bus, which was parked in front of the hotel until they would come back from the ski slopes. They all enjoyed their last ski session – some people were actually skiing, some others were sledding or just fooling around in the snow.

The Greendale 7 skied only for thirty minutes before taking their skis off and engaging in a snowball fight. Obviously, Abed was thrilled because he could cross it off his “movie tropes to-do list”.

“Pierce, stop faking a heart-attack every time you want to get someone by surprise!” Britta complained at some point.

“Okay, timeout, timeout!” Troy yelled, showing his hands forming the letter T. “I think I accidentally ate some snow.”

Everyone suddenly sat down in the snow. Jeff grabbed Annie’s waist and started tickling her, which made her laugh heartily.

“Jeff, stop it!” Annie laughed.

“Damn, you two look even happier than usual.” Britta pointed out with a frown. “What happened last night?”

Jeff and Annie didn’t answer Britta’s question and just meaningfully looked at each other. Then, they giggled a little before Annie rested her head on Jeff’s shoulder.

“Forget I asked.” Britta added, rolling her eyes.

“Sounds like you’re jealous, Britta.” Abed pointed out.

Annie noticed Britta quickly glancing at Troy before lowering her eyes and staring at her shoes. Troy then briefly looked at her but he turned his head almost instantly. Annie felt saddened by her friends’ reactions and wished she could help them. But she promised Troy she wouldn’t say anything, and it wasn’t her place to meddle. Therefore, she pretended like she hadn’t seen anything.

Everyone met back at the hotel around 1 P.M., got on the bus and just fifteen minutes later, the bus left the resort. Each person sat at the exact same spot they had the day before. Annie was only half-listening to the Dean’s speech as she was softly rocked by the sound of the bus moving. She kept on reliving the magical moments of this weekend on repeat in her head. To her, it was unreal that Jeff Winger finally felt the same way about her as she did about him. After all, everything had started between them because of the love letters’ incident. She would never have thought that it would eventually turn out to be so much more than that.

Just when some new feelings were blossoming, others seemed to just fade away. Annie realized that Britta and Troy hadn’t spent any time together this weekend, unlike what Annie had advised. They didn’t even fight to share a room together. It looked like there was nothing else that could be done for them, which Annie felt truly sorry about.

As Annie was still thinking about everything that happened this weekend, she suddenly recalled something and didn’t wait a second before turning to Jeff.

“By the way…” Annie began saying to get his attention. “Yesterday, when you met me and Britta in the lobby after getting our coats, you kind of looked… upset. Did something happen?”

Annie could tell Jeff was startled by her enquiry. Maybe she crossed a line, she thought. Maybe it was none of her business and she had no right to ask him that. Regardless, Jeff eventually shrugged before giving her an answer.

“I was probably just tired, I guess.” Jeff said. “But no, nothing happened though, don’t worry.”

Annie didn’t know why but her guts were telling her that it wasn’t true. However, she just smiled before turning away and looking through the window, trying to shove the bad feeling she was starting to have deep down.

***

The next Monday marked the beginning of the last week before the Christmas break. Annie was pretty excited about the holidays, because she would finally have time to sort through her things, reorganize her room and get ahead on the future classes she’ll take during the second semester. However, in the meantime, she was also afraid, because as a result of taking summer classes, Jeff would graduate earlier than the rest of the study group, which meant that it was his last week at Greendale’s community college. Consequently, Annie wasn’t sure they would still see each other after the Christmas break, and this thought terrified her. Especially after what happened between them at the ski trip.

After realizing all that, Annie decided she needed to have an actual conversation with Jeff about defining their relationship status. She wanted to know if he meant everything he had said to her the weekend before. She _had_ to know if he actually wanted their relationship to become real.

Annie was terribly nervous and had taken their dating contract with her before heading out of her apartment and going to school. When she arrived on campus, the first thing she did was looking for Jeff. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

She texted him to ask him where he was. He responded only ten seconds later to tell her he was at the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee. She immediately ran in that direction to find Jeff. Once she was there, she saw him in front of the coffee machine. She walked towards him and nervously tapped his shoulder to get his attention. He turned around and smiled, as he usually did when he saw her.

“Hey, cute eyes.” Jeff told her.

Jeff gently kissed Annie afterwards, which made her stomach flutter. She both loved and hated the effect Jeff had on her.

“Hi.” She simply answered back.

“How are you? You sounded urgent in your text.” Jeff pointed out before getting his cup of coffee out of the machine.

“Yeah, I… I wanted to talk to you.” Annie bluntly said, taking his hand to sit down on the couch with him in front of the coffee machine.

“Uh-oh.” Jeff let out with a grimace. “Conversations beginning with that sentence don’t usually end well.”

“Oh no no, it’s nothing, don’t worry.” Annie immediately said to reassure him. “Well, it’s not _not_ nothing but I mean, it’s not really a big deal. It is kind of a big deal but not that big of a deal –“

“Annie, you’re all over the place right now, breathe.” Jeff interrupted her, putting his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

“Sorry.” Annie said before clearing her throat. “I’m just a bit nervous.”

“Just say what you want to say.”

“Yeah, um… I just wanted to know… I wanted to make sure we were on the same page about… _us_.”

“I’m listening.” Jeff nodded.

“After what happened on the ski trip, I think it’s important to clarify things. We should both talk about what we want with each other. I thought about it last night, so much that I barely slept, actually, but that’s not the point. And… I would like to know what you think.”

“Sure. I mean, we did talk about cancelling the contract… Is that what you want?”

“I… think so?” Annie said in a high-pitched voice.

“You think so?” Jeff repeated with an amused smile.

“Only if you think so too.” Annie admitted, cheeks flushed.

Annie lowered her eyes, embarrassed. Then, she felt Jeff’s hand gently grabbing her chin to raise her head. This way, she had to lock eyes with Jeff and the intensity of his stare disrupted her for a second.

“Annie Edison, are you trying to ask me out right now?” Jeff told her with a smile.

Annie giggled before composing herself. She still felt nervous but the way Jeff made her feel gave her enough confidence to say what was on her mind.

“Maybe I am.” Annie confirmed. “Last weekend was so amazing, Jeff. I tried to avoid feeling the way I feel about you but I can’t run away from my feelings anymore. And I know we said we would end everything after the ski trip, and that we couldn’t get attached… But the truth is, Jeff, I don’t want this to end. The opposite, actually. I want this to get started. To get real.”

Annie’s heart was racing in her chest. She feared Jeff’s reaction. Maybe he would turn her down, tell her the charade needed to stop, that he didn’t feel the same way about her. Luckily, he did no such thing. He intertwined her fingers to his and exhaled sharply before talking.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Jeff asked her. “You’re such a bright young woman, I might not be able to give you what you want or what you really deserve.”

“I know what I want, Jeff. And you being a part of my life is definitely one of these things.”

“Okay. Then how can I say no to these beautiful blue eyes?” Jeff said with a smile.

“I don’t want you to do it because you feel sorry for me.”

“Don’t worry about me. If I’m doing it, it’s because I want to. Like you, I tried to fulfil the dating contract’s agreements, but as it turns out, I really can’t resist you, Annie. And I don’t want this to end either.”

Annie was so happy she almost wanted to cry. Jeff noticed it and instantly closed the gap between them to give her a kiss. A soft, tender, loving kiss.

“So… What are our new rules, then?” Annie giggled nervously after they stopped kissing.

“I say we should go by one rule only, and it’s to just… live in the moment and see what happens.” Jeff suggested.

“Yeah… I think it’s a pretty good rule.”

While they smiled at each other and started kissing again, they weren’t aware of the fact that Abed was sitting at the other end of the room, looking at them. Vicki stopped walking next to him, looking in the same direction.

“They are so beautiful together, I wish I could have what they have.” Vicki sighed dreamily.

“They are, aren’t they?” Abed said casually. “Good thing I saw the potential of their pairing, otherwise, they still wouldn’t be canon.”


	12. Introduction to being in an actual relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey new chapter!!  
> This one is a little bit angsty, fair warning... Before hating me, keep in mind that this is mostly fluffy and will definitely have a happy ending haha.  
> Sorry if there are typos in this one, it's late here and I very quickly edited the chapter.  
> Don't hesitate to kudos or comment, feedback is very much so appreciated :)
> 
> (As usual, a huge thanks to the Discord Community #fan-fic channel for being supportive and encouraging. They are the best!)

**_ Chapter 12: Introduction to being in an actual relationship. _ **

Fake-dating Jeff had been an interesting and overwhelming experience for Annie. Therefore, dating him for real was even more exhilarating.

From the moment they decided to forget about their contract and try a real relationship, Annie had been walking on air. To their friends and everyone else around them, nothing had changed, though. They were supposed to be together since the beginning of the school year, after all. However, everything was new to Jeff and Annie. The hand-holding, the cuddling, the kissing, now that feelings were involved, it felt much different and more exciting.

After making their relationship official – again – on Monday, Annie had spent every night at Jeff’s apartment by Thursday. She would come over, he would cook something delicious or order in, they would cuddle on the couch while watching a movie, and then, they would go to bed together. They hadn’t done more than sharing a bed for now, since Annie would rather wait, but also because Jeff didn’t want to pressure her and also felt like it was better to wait for this big step in their relationship. Annie was relieved they were on the same page – unlike Britta or many others would say, Jeff was not a “monster who craved young flesh”. He respected her enough to know what she needed without her telling him anything and she loved him even more for that.

On that Thursday morning, the day before Christmas break and Jeff’s graduation, the pair went to college together. They left Jeff’s apartment, drove into Jeff’s car and walked on campus hand in hand, giggling like sappy teenagers. Annie didn’t even care that they drew attention to them because she was happier than ever and nothing could take that away from her.

They went separate ways to walk to each of their classes and as Annie started to turn around to go in the opposite direction, Jeff made her spin softly to give her another kiss. She laughed in his mouth and she could feel his lips turning into a smile next to hers.

“Jeff, I’m going to be late.” Annie chuckled after breaking away from him.

“So am I but who cares?” Jeff retorted with a smirk.

“ _I_ care! Unlike a certain someone, I still have another semester before graduation so I can’t play hooky now.” Annie pointed out with a smile.

“I’m not telling you to skip class, just to be like two tiny minutes late so that we can kiss some more.” Jeff pouted.

“You know, kissing is nice but… Not enough for me to be late to class, though.” Annie admitted with a smirk.

“Ugh, fine, you beautiful intelligent top of the class brainiac.” Jeff joked.

“Besides, we’ll have plenty of time to hang out later on.” Annie added, intertwining her fingers to Jeff’s. “After lunch, my next class isn’t until four.”

“Mine isn’t until four and a half.”

“Perfect, then. Meet you at lunch?”

“It’s a date.”

Annie smiled at Jeff, who softly kissed her cheek before walking away and waving goodbye at her, grinning. Annie waved back and sighed happily before heading towards her classroom. Her heart was glowing and she couldn’t stop smiling – everything was going so well.

Annie took her seat right when her watch beeped to notify her it was 9 A.M. She winced, not comfortable with being right on time to class. She liked getting there a few minutes early to have time to take her notebooks and her pens out, ready to listen and learn. Thanks to Jeff, she had to hurry before the professor could start his class.

Annie quickly wrote “Introduction to Criminalistics – Week 12” while the professor started writing the program on the blackboard. Annie was deeply focused, taking notes and listening carefully. From time to time, she felt like some people were glancing at her, then laughing, but she thought it was probably her imagination. In a blink of an eye, the class was dismissed and it was already time for her next one. Annie packed her stuff, put her backpack on her shoulders and immediately walked out to get to her next classroom.

When she walked out the door, she noticed a group of girls surrounding someone who was showing them something on their phone, making them gasp in shock and chuckle. Annie squinted to pay more attention – the person in the middle of this little circle was no one else but Annie Kim. She seemed to have a blast. Curious, Annie decided to join in and find out what everyone was laughing about.

“Hi guys!” Annie exclaimed, walking in.

She felt like she had just taken a cold shower by the deafening silence that followed her greeting. Everyone completely stopped talking and avoided crossing eyes with her. Annie raised her eyebrows – it was almost like they were talking about… her. However, she didn’t chicken out and kept on smiling.

“What is so funny?” Annie asked.

The only answer she got was someone coughing out of embarrassment. Great, they were _definitely_ talking about her.

“Great, so, I’m going to be late to class but have fun, I guess.” Annie eventually said ironically.

Understanding that nobody was going to acknowledge her, Annie winced awkwardly, then walked away, feeling like she had several pairs of eyes following her. She shivered, suddenly overtaken by a bad feeling.

***

When her last class of the morning was done, Annie went towards the cafeteria to meet Jeff along with the rest of the study group. She was excited, as usual, to get lunch with her friends, and her now boyfriend, even though the weird interaction she had with Annie Kim and the girls earlier left her with an odd feeling. She tried not to let it get her down and met her friends with a wide smile.

“Hey everyone!” She exclaimed, sitting down next to Abed.

Her smile faded away when she noticed they were reacting the exact same way as the group of girls from before. _Oh no, something is definitely up_ , she thought to herself.

“What is it?” Annie asked in a desperate tone.

They all lowered their eyes, except for Britta, sitting in front of her, who awkwardly smiled at her. Annie silently interrogated her, more confused than ever. She looked around and immediately noticed something else.

“Jeff still isn’t here?” She asked, surprised.

Yet again, Annie’s question was met by clearing throats and silence. At some point, Britta rolled her eyes and puffed.

“You guys are seriously planning on ignoring Annie’s questions all the way through lunch?” Britta said angrily. “This is very mature, congratulations.”

“Britta, can you tell me what’s going on, please?” Annie asked her with a lump in her throat.

Britta’s face softened and she laid sorry eyes on Annie before sighing, apparently bracing herself to talk. Annie dreaded the explanation for everyone’s strange behavior today. She had no idea what to expect and it was even more terrifying than having suspicions.

“Look, sweetie, um…” Britta started before sighing again. “It’s not easy to say because I know it’ll make you sad but um… When we were at the ski resort last weekend and you were apparently with Jeff on the rooftop at some point… Well, someone else was there and they, um… They filmed you and… Then, they made a montage of it and shared it with the school.”

Annie blinked fast, dumbfounded. Her throat felt itchy and her heart was pounding loudly in her chest. She heard Britta’s words but her brain couldn’t seem to accept them.

“Wh – I’m sorry, I don’t… I don’t understand.” Annie stammered.

“Well… Do you want to see the video?” Britta asked her in a soft voice.

Annie didn’t even know what to answer. So there was a video of her magical moment on the rooftop with Jeff going around the entire college? Was it what Annie Kim and the girls were looking at this morning, laughing?

“Have you already seen this video?” Annie asked all of her friends.

“What do you want us to answer?” Troy asked, frowning.

“I don’t know, that… Um, maybe that you respect your friends’ intimacy enough to avoid watching a private video of them going around the Internet?” Annie squealed, chuckling nervously.

“Oh. Okay, sounds fair. Then no, I definitely didn’t watch it.” Troy said, shaking his head from left to right very fast.

“What do you mean, we watched it this morning over breakfast.” Abed retorted, looking confusingly at Troy.

“Ugh Abed, that’s not what Annie wanted to hear!” Troy said in a loud whisper.

“Oh. Sorry Annie.” Abed said with a shrug.

“We had to watch it honey, we wanted to know what the fuss was all about.” Shirley added with sorry eyes.

“Did you have to, though?” Annie replied with blurry eyes. “Because from what I’ve seen so far, people are making fun of me with this.”

“No sweetie, they’re really not making fun of you.” Britta retorted, taking Annie’s hands in hers in a comforting way. “The person who did that just made a funny montage, if we can call it that way, because in my opinion, invading people’s privacy is nowhere near fun. In fact, this is why the Internet is really bad and people shouldn’t be putting stuff up there –“

“Honey, you’re losing track here.” Shirley interrupted her with an embarrassed smile.

“Anyway, the point is, what people think is funny is just the montage itself, I really don’t think they’re making fun of you.” Britta finished, squeezing Annie’s hands.

“You have to admit this video is pretty funny.” Pierce intervened with a laugh. “How they put those stickers on their faces, it’s just so –“

“Pierce, stop talking right now or I swear to God, you’re going to have a sticker on your face too.” Shirley scolded him between clenched teeth.

Annie was trying her hardest not to cry and despite their “efforts”, her friends were really not helping with that.

“What stickers is Pierce talking about?” Annie suddenly asked shyly.

“Sweetie, it’s not worth it, really, the person who did that is obviously someone petty and childish, the best thing you can do is ignore them, trust me on this.” Britta advised her.

“I’m not a child Britta, I think I can handle it.” Annie said harshly, straightening on her seat to make a point.

“You sure? Because it kind of looked like you were about to cry right now.” Troy pointed out.

Annie watched Britta – not so – discreetly punch Troy’s leg and shoot him a death stare. Troy was right, Annie wanted to cry, but what she didn’t want was her friends pitying her. Therefore, she put on a brave face and cleared her throat.

“I want to see the video.” Annie said assertively.

“Okay, it’s your call, Annie.” Britta sighed before looking through her phone.

Only a few seconds later, Britta had found the video again and immediately gave her phone to Annie so she could watch it. Putting the volume higher to hear better, Annie played the video, nervous. What could possibly be in there to make everyone awkward and embarrassed around her?

It was a video shot from a distance. It was definitely on the rooftop from the ski resort. There was the glass igloo, with Annie and Jeff inside, talking. So far, nothing too bad. But then, just like it happened for real, Jeff kissed Annie. However, instead of their actual faces, the person who made the montage put a sticker of Edward from _Twilight_ on Jeff’s face and another sticker of Bella on Annie’s face. Annie gasped, stunned. She didn’t know what she expected but she certainly did not expect that.

A few seconds later, a message popped on the video. Annie read it and each word was hurting her even more than the previous one.

_the story of an older creep lurking for young flesh: the retelling of Twilight at Greendale_

The video stopped just when the kiss stopped as well. Annie stared at the screen, shocked. Someone had really taken one of the most beautiful moments of her life and made a joke out of it. She couldn’t believe it.

Annie felt Britta’s phone being taken away from her hands and shortly after, there was a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Britta standing next to her, gently stroking her arm.

“Are you okay, An-nie?” Shirley asked her with a concerned look on her face.

“I’m… not sure.” Annie replied honestly.

“Look, like I said, it’s something stupid and immature, and it’s not even funny, don’t pay attention to it.” Britta said.

“Has Jeff seen it?” Annie then asked.

“I don’t know, I actually haven’t seen him all morning.” Britta answered.

“Me neither.” Shirley added.

“So people are not making fun of me but… They’re making fun of Jeff.” Annie realized out loud, heartbroken.

“Well, to be fair, they’re mostly making fun of Edward because he’s eighty years older than Bella.” Abed pointed out.

“Not helping, Abed.” Britta told him.

“I need to find Jeff.” Annie suddenly said before standing up.

“You won’t have to go too far, Annie, your lover is coming.” Pierce said, pointing at something behind her.

Annie turned around and saw Jeff walking towards the cafeteria. He pretended like he hadn’t seen his friends all looking at him and grabbed a tray before waiting in line to get some food.

Annie didn’t think twice before rushing to him to make sure he was okay. Maybe she was upset about the video, but she was even more upset about how Jeff was probably feeling about it.

“Jeff, are you okay?” Annie asked him when she was next to him.

She noticed the people behind Jeff suddenly paying attention and staring at them. Infuriated, Annie glared at them and crossed her arms against her chest in an intimidating way.

“Sorry, this is a private conversation, could you mind your own business?” Annie exclaimed angrily.

They didn’t bother answering but instantly looked away. Briefly satisfied, Annie focused back on Jeff, who wasn’t even looking at her.

“Have you seen the video?” Annie asked him softly.

“Unfortunately.” Jeff answered plainly.

“Okay, well… How are you feeling? I’m worried about you.” Annie told him

“Terrific, Annie. I mean, people have been calling me Edward all morning and looking at me either with disgusted or pity looks, so obviously, it’s been an amazing day so far.” Jeff said sarcastically.

Annie felt a bit distressed by Jeff’s tone but she decided it was best not to acknowledge it for now.

“Why haven’t you texted me earlier to let me know what was going on?” Annie asked her, confused. “I only found out about the video a few minutes ago.”

“I knew it would upset you and I didn’t want to talk about it with you through a text.”

“Of course it upset me but I want to know how _you_ feel about it, Jeff. You seem… off.”

“Well, to be honest, this is not how I imagined my last days at Greendale, if you must know.”

Annie stiffened at Jeff’s harsh tone and felt speechless. As if he understood that he had crossed a line, Jeff finally laid eyes on her and sighed.

“I’m sorry, I’m not mad at you, I just… I think I’m going to go grab lunch in Ian’s empty office to think about all of this.” Jeff said.

“What is there to think about? Britta told me it was best to ignore it, and school ends tomorrow, soon it will just be a bad memory.” Annie said as cheerfully as she could.

“I just need to be alone right now, Annie.”

Jeff was smiling but it was nothing like the smiles she saw this morning. Feeling like she had just been punched in the stomach, Annie forced herself to put on a smile as well and nodded half-heartedly.

“Okay. I’ll see you later then.” Annie said.

They briefly kissed before Jeff took his tray now filled with food and walked out of the cafeteria without even looking at her another time. Just like his smile, his kiss didn’t feel the same. Jeff was obviously very upset about the video and he didn’t want to talk about it. Defeated, Annie walked back to her friends and sat down next to them, letting them make small talks and jokes to momentarily forget about everything that had just happened.

***

After lunch, Annie had isolated herself in the library to study and let her thoughts wander without anyone disturbing her. She kept on checking her phone but she still hadn’t heard from Jeff. After sighing for probably the millionth time, Annie looked at her watch. Her next class would be in fifteen minutes. She put her things back into her backpack and grabbed it before leaving the library, ready to walk to her classroom.

In the hallways, there were still some looks lingering on her while she passed by. Annie tried her hardest to ignore them but the more people were staring, the more she could feel the anger growing inside of her. She didn’t even understand how people could make such a big deal out of it now after she and Jeff had – supposedly – dated for the last months and no one seemed to bother. So why now? Was it really just because the montage and the stickers on their faces in the video were “funny”? Even though they weren’t making fun of them exactly, it was still annoying to be in the middle of such a thing and Annie wished she could find out who filmed and posted that video. Maybe she was able to apply the new things she had learned over the semester in criminology classes…

Chasing the thought away, Annie focused on her itinerary when she walked by a professor’s office and heard a voice. A very familiar voice.

Annie stopped immediately when she recognized Jeff’s voice and walked stealthily towards the room where it came from. The door was slightly open but not enough for her to take a peek inside – he had just told her he wanted to be alone, she didn’t want to be intrusive and let him think she was following him. Annie put her back against the wall next to the doorframe and tried to hear what Jeff was saying.

“… and you know, I don’t even understand how people would be dumb enough to do something like this.” Jeff’s voice was saying. “I mean, sure, it’s ironic of me to say when we know I’m talking about Greendale, but still. People might be stupid here but this, this is just straight up mean.”

“I understand your anger Jeff but, you know, maybe calling people stupid isn’t very nice too.”

Annie froze, biting her tongue out of surprise. She had just heard Michelle Slater’s voice answering Jeff’s. So Jeff told Annie he wanted to be alone, and now, he was talking with Slater? Why couldn’t he talk with Annie instead? She was his girlfriend, after all. She was here for that.

“You’re right but you know what I mean.” Jeff’s voice said right after.

“I do and I agree on the fact that it is very wrong to do something like this. If you want, I can go to the IT lady and let her know what happened so we can find out who uploaded this video.” Michelle’s voice said.

“I don’t know, I’m not even sure I want to find out who did this.” Jeff confessed, sighing.

“Well, it certainly goes against the school’s rules about harassment, bullying and individual’s privacy, I assume, so you should at least tell the Dean about it.”

“And what is he going to do about that, Michelle? Look, I’d rather let it slide and forget about it, tomorrow’s my last day at Greendale and my graduation, I don’t want to end things on a negative note.”

“Oh right, how are you feeling about graduating, Mister Winger?” Michelle exclaimed joyfully.

“Honestly? I’m excited about leaving this crazy place but I also feel weird, you know? I mean, I think I’m going to miss it here, somehow. Especially my friends.”

Annie softened at Jeff’s statement and smiled. They hadn’t really talked about it before, how he felt about graduating and leaving Greendale earlier than the others. Of course he couldn’t wait to get out of here, but she felt relieved that he was still going to miss it either way. After all, once you’d been at Greendale community college, you couldn’t really be able to forget about it.

“Of course, you do have a bunch of interesting people as friends.” Michelle chuckled.

“I know, they’re all exceptional in their own ways. Especially Annie.”

Annie’s heart glowed again and she loved that Jeff mentioned her particularly. He might have been upset earlier but he wasn’t upset with her, which she had suspected for a while, resulting in tormenting herself mentally while studying.

“Annie’s the girlfriend, right?” Michelle then asked. “She looks sweet.”

“She’s the best. I still can’t believe she puts up with me, sometimes.”

“How is she feeling about the video?”

Annie was starting to think that she shouldn’t be eavesdropping, that it wasn’t right but now that the conversation was about her, she didn’t want to leave or miss something interesting.

“I don’t actually know, I didn’t want to talk about it earlier…”

“Really? Jeff, it seems rather logical to talk about it with the other person involved in this.”

“I know, I wasn’t thinking straight and I acted like a jerk. I was just so mad that someone would put us through this. Especially Annie, she doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. Damn, I hope she’ll forgive me for earlier…”

Annie wanted to let out her signature “aww” but she restrained herself to avoid blowing her cover.

“I’m sure she will.” Michelle asserted. “But maybe you should go talk to her first instead of staying here talking to me.”

“You’re right. Sorry, thanks for listening to my jibber-jabber anyway. I feel better now.”

“Anytime, Jeff. I’m glad we were able to have a discussion after the one we had at the ski resort.”

Annie felt like her heart was dropping into her stomach when she heard that last sentence. Suddenly, she remembered how Jeff was acting weird while she was waiting for him to get their coats and she started to piece the puzzle together in her head.

“Yeah, me too. It would’ve been too bad to leave things the way we did the other time.” Jeff then said. “I’m glad we can stay friends, Michelle.”

“Likewise, Jeff. I’m glad we cleared the air.”

“I have to admit, our conversation at the ski resort made me a little sad afterwards but we did need to have it.”

“Jeff Winger, sad because of me? Who would have thought?”

The two started laughing together as Annie’s world was falling apart. Without waiting another second, she ran away and went blindly towards her next class. Her watch was now beeping 4 P.M. and she was still in the hallway. Not only was she heartbroken because Jeff had lied to her, but now, she was also going to be late for class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S.: Shoutout to the IT lady aka Frankie hehe.


	13. Feelings management.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter before the end...  
> To be honest, I'm not a fan of this chapter but I needed to write it regardless to get to the ending. Hopefully, you guys won't hate it haha.  
> Kudos and comments are appreciated :)
> 
> (As usual, a huge thanks to the Community Discord #fan-fics channel for their endless support, these guys are the best.)

**_ Chapter 13: Feelings management. _ **

On Jeff’s graduation day, Annie was nowhere to be found. Everything was set, the Dean was re-reading his speech for the seventh time, as he claimed to anyone who actually listened, and they finally put the last chairs in place.

Jeff was standing in the corner of the room, looking restlessly at the study room’s doorframe to see if Annie would finally make her appearance. Two minutes before, she still wasn’t here. Jeff started worrying. Annie was not the kind of person to be late to any event, ever. Maybe something had happened to her?

Jeff nervously shook his head and tried to focus on the moment. Britta came by his side and questioned him with her eyes.

“Where is Annie?” Britta asked him eventually.

“I have no idea.” Jeff honestly answered, looking one more time at the doorframe.

“Maybe she got held up in class or something, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Britta told him confidently.

“I haven’t heard from her since yesterday, Britta.” Jeff retorted. “She’s not answering my texts or my calls. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“That doesn’t sound like her… Maybe she’s upset because of the video?” Britta assumed, wincing.

“I don’t know…” Jeff admitted, defeated.

“Look, we can still wait a few more minutes for her to show up, if it makes you feel any better.” Britta suggested with a comforting smile. “If there’s got to be one person that can’t miss this graduation ceremony, it’s her. She’s your girlfriend, after all.”

Jeff chuckled in a discouraged way, to which Britta patted his arm gently before going to sit next to Troy. Jeff had noticed the way Britta and Troy were no longer showing gestures of affection towards each other ever since the ski trip but he hadn’t brought it up. It was none of his business and if they really wanted to share what was going on, they would have said something already. Therefore, Jeff didn’t meddle.

Five minutes later, there was still no Annie in the room, only a bunch of impatient people. The Dean slid next to Jeff and cleared his throat to get his attention.

“Well Jeffrey, I don’t want to pressure you or anything but we should probably get started now. I have the ‘best cheesecake eater’ ceremony to attend to in the cafeteria in twenty minutes and I can’t afford to miss it, I’m the one hosting it, as you can imagine.” The Dean said with a light giggle.

Jeff looked at the doorframe one more time and sighed. Annie was obviously not coming.

“Fine, let’s get it over with.” Jeff mumbled.

Following Craig’s steps, Jeff walked towards the desk and stood behind it, scanning the room. There weren’t a lot of people in the room, because let’s face it, a single-person graduation ceremony at Greendale seemed rather ridiculous and no one would willingly attend it, unless they didn’t have anything better to do. Regardless, Jeff was pleased to see some familiar faces there, like Neil, Garrett, Vicky, even Leonard, who winked at him as a joke. There were Jeff’s friends too, looking proudly at him. Britta, Troy, Abed, Shirley, Pierce… Michelle wanted to come by but she told him she had an important appointment to attend to, therefore, she hadn’t been able to come but she hadn’t failed to mention to Jeff she would think about him and congratulate him.

Jeff was lightly smiling until he looked over the empty spot next to Shirley. Annie was supposed to sit here, being the proudest of them all, giving him the strength to go through this just with her beautiful eyes and her comforting smile. Unfortunately, she wasn’t here to give him all of that. And Jeff had never missed her more than in this moment.

Upon seeing everyone looking at him expectantly and the Dean constantly clearing his throat and tapping on his watch, Jeff eventually held up the paper on which his notes were written and prepared to talk.

“Alright.” He first said. “First of all, I would like to thank everyone here today. I appreciate you coming here to attend this silly one-person graduation thingy only Greendale is capable of pulling. To be honest, all of the friendly faces in front of me remind me of – “

Jeff interrupted himself when he noticed what was happening in the study room. A small and quiet figure had quickly walked in the room and was now making her way through the row of chairs to sit next to Shirley. Once she flattened her slightly wrinkled skirt and crossed her right leg over her left leg, she finally lifted her head to look at him. Jeff’s nervousness faded away once he met Annie’s lovable blue eyes. She didn’t bail on him, she was here. This silly graduation was not so silly anymore, after all.

“Hey, could you hurry up Winger, some of us have better things to do than listening to your annoying speech all night long.” Someone shouted from their seat.

“Shut up Leonard, I know you got banned from bingo club since you mistook it for strip-poker.” Jeff immediately retorted harshly.

Leonard smirked, not ashamed whatsoever. Jeff noticed Troy refraining a laugh while Shirley quietly scolded him. Jeff looked over at his notes to remember what he was supposed to say next, thrown off by Annie’s sudden appearance. He cleared his throat and got back to what he was saying beforehand.

“As I was saying, the friendly faces in front of me remind me of this… well, quite interesting journey these four years have been. Each and every one of you have contributed, somehow, to this journey and made it special.”

“Some more than others.” Pierce guffawed cockily.

“Thanks Pierce.” Jeff said ironically. “I’m not going to lie about it, all of you are perfectly aware of it – when I first got here, I hated Greendale with all my guts. I hated the institution, I despised people, I genuinely thought I was better than everyone else around here –”

“Boo!” Someone hooted.

“Stop interrupting him, people!” The Dean yelled, visibly annoyed.

“Yes, I was a self-righteous ass when I first got to Greendale.” Jeff continued, ignoring the constant interruptions. “And even though I wasn’t planning on letting it get under my skin, the power this place has to make you a better person was too strong for me to resist it. Especially after I met a certain group of people that turned my life around.”

Shirley made her signature “aww”, followed by Britta, as Troy and Abed exchanged their classic handshake and Pierce nodded humbly. Jeff was focused on Annie’s reaction, expecting her to mimic Shirley, but instead, she vaguely smiled, her arms crossed against her chest. Jeff was disconcerted, and also a bit hurt. Why was she acting like that?

“Each and every person I can see in this room today made a difference in their own way.” Jeff kept on talking, slowly putting his notes down. “Everything that happened in Greendale made me change, made me evolve, made me… a better person, I guess.”

Jeff locked eyes with Annie afterwards and saw her quietly gasp, her mouth just slightly open. He didn’t know if it was the lighting of the room but it looked like Annie’s eyes were bright, as if she had been… No, it couldn’t be. If something was wrong, she would have said something, she would have talked about it with him. She wouldn’t ignore him and act strange. Jeff said to himself that as soon as he would be done with this ridiculously cheesy graduation speech, he would run to Annie and ask her what was actually going on.

Jeff took a deep breath and braced himself for what he was about to say next.

“Yes, what happened in Greendale changed me, in all possible ways. The paintball wars, the food fighting, seizing the day… The classes I took were… enlightening for some, in a way, disturbing for others. But every single one of these things became valuable in retrospective. And the people I met at Greendale, the people that are here today, they truly made a difference. Ultimately, what actually made a difference at Greendale was this bunch of dorks over here.”

Jeff looked over at his friends’ row of chairs, which made them straighten because of the newly attention they were getting.

“Britta Perry, everything started out because I asked Abed if he knew your name. And then, the study group was born, and you also happened to become one of my best friends. You’re the worst sometimes, but you always challenged me and it got me where I am today. So thank you.”

Britta genuinely smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. Jeff felt encouraged to keep on talking, even though most of the people in the room seemed bored already.

“Abed Nadir, you saw my value when no one else did, and the study group truly existed because of that. We didn’t always understand each other but you’ve always been there for me and as contradictory as it may seem, your constant movie references kept me on my toes throughout these crazy years. So thank you.”

Abed’s lips twisted in what looked like a smile and he gave a simple nod to Jeff. This reaction was the best he could get out of Abed, therefore, Jeff focused on his other friends.

“Troy Barnes, you went from the high-school football star to the great college guy you are today. You’re true to yourself, honest and whole, and for that I admire and envy you. So thank you for setting a good example.”

Jeff swore he saw a tear rolling down Troy’s cheek, even though he just acted chill and smiled to Jeff. He could tell his little speech was moving his friends, but there was one reaction he expected the most from, and he was slowly building the anticipation by saving it for last.

“Shirley Bennett, my incredible, incredible strong woman friend.” Jeff began, making Shirley smile widely. “We haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on things but at the end of the day, you pushed me to becoming a better person and for that, thank you.”

Shirley pretended to send Jeff a kiss by putting her lips together above her hand and blowing in his direction, while Jeff heard someone wondering if he was going to thank every single person in the room. Jeff’s hands were sweaty as he was slowly getting to Annie but he composed himself and kept on being the charming auditor he’d always been.

“Pierce Hawthorne… There are so many things I could say but none would be close enough to your… character.” Jeff tried to simplify, while Pierce was obviously appreciating being under the spotlight. “We’ve had our differences over the years but your determination and hunger to succeed inspired me. So thanks to you too, despite everything, I guess.”

Pierce stuck out his chest, smirking, as if he had been the only one receiving praise from Jeff. And then, it was time for Jeff to finally focus on the one person he couldn’t get his mind off. He laid eyes on Annie, and suddenly, it was like she was the only one left in the room and everyone around her had disappeared. She was the only one Jeff wanted to focus on, nothing else mattered. It was him, Jeff Winger, and her, Annie Edison, alone in the study room.

Jeff swallowed hardly and opened his mouth to start talking.

“Last but not least.” Jeff then said, getting everyone in the room to stop talking and listening carefully. “Annie Edison.”

Annie was staring at her feet until then but upon hearing her name, she lifted her head up and locked eyes with Jeff. Her intense gaze made his heart flutter, which was unusual to him. He had never felt this way over a woman before, and feeling that for Annie was overwhelming and scary. But she was worth all the pain and Jeff could let himself surrender to his fears if it was to see her smile again.

“I have so much I want to say to you, Annie.” Jeff kept on talking, his palms sweatier than before. “I’ll try to be brief, don't worry. Against all odds, of all the people, you’ve always made me want to become someone better. You inspired me, you encouraged me. I could never actually admit it but now that I’m leaving, what the hell? I want to be honest. I love how you’re passionate, determined, perfectionist, and all that comes with it. I love that you’re a bright and assertive woman who knows what she wants and what she deserves. I love that nothing and nobody can stand in your way when you’re ready to succeed. All of that inevitably made me look up to you and inspired me to become a better person, so thank you.“

“Can you get to the point, Winger?” Garrett suddenly exclaimed. “I have a podiatrist appointment in ten minutes and this is taking forever.”

Jeff pursed his lips in frustration when he realized Garrett had stopped him in his tracks upon making amends with Annie for whatever she was mad about.

“Right, um… Yeah, long story short, I’m done with Greendale, thanks for everything and I’ll see you around eventually.” Jeff concluded plainly.

Everyone applauded sincerely, especially the Dean. Jeff quietly sighed and started walking over to his friends as the others were making their way out of the study room. He was stopped by Neil and Vicki, who wanted to personally congratulate him for graduating. Jeff talked to them quickly before waving them off and moving again. He immediately saw Britta as she was now standing up. His other friends were too, but he quickly realized something.

“Britta, where is Annie?” Jeff asked desperately.

Britta looked at him with a sad eye and unfortunately, he knew exactly what it meant.

“She said she had somewhere to go to.” Britta explained briefly. “She left.”

Jeff lowered his eyes and tried to hide his disappointment. The person he wanted to celebrate his graduation with the most seemed to avoid him like the plague and if he was being honest with himself, it was killing him inside, especially because he had no idea why.

***

Annie realized Jeff had delivered a Winger speech during his graduation to tell her how he felt about her, in his own way. She always loved the Winger speeches. Jeff was so good at them. Usually, she would have liked it, the way her friends did when he thanked them. However, she was not so sure she really liked it this time. Deep down, she wished he would have said those things when they were alone together. Not in front of their classmates and the Dean.

Speaking of the Dean, he was so emotional about Jeff leaving Greendale that he decided to cancel classes earlier today to allow the students to “mourn”. Therefore, Shirley had suggested it would be nice to go shopping with Britta and Annie, who both agreed joyfully. After all, it was the holiday break and they hadn’t had any real “girls time" for a while. Annie, especially, could definitely use that time.

After she went back to Apartment 303 to have lunch, Annie left again to meet her friends at the mall. She quickly spotted them, Shirley and Britta waiting for her near the decorative fountain. She waved at them from afar and she walked briskly towards them. Annie could see that behind their friendly smiles and hand gestures, her friends were looking at her with concern.

“Hi!” Annie exclaimed with a smile once she was next to them.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Britta asked her with an inquisitive eye.

“We’ve missed you at Jeffrey’s graduation cake eating, An-nie.” Shirley said softly.

“Yeah, Jeff hasn’t even complained about eating sugar that’ll eventually make him lose the abs because he was too busy wondering where you were.” Britta added with a grin.

Annie lost her smile and started staring at her shoes, embarrassed. She knew what the implied message here was and she couldn’t even disagree because she thought the exact same thing. She had screwed up. She was sad, confused and heartbroken by Jeff’s behaviour from the day before. She had ruined his graduation day by not being there to support him and when she realized this was how Jeff probably will remember his last day at Greendale, guilt overwhelmed her, encompassing her completely. But now, it was too late and she had to deal with the consequences of that action, her friends’ curious looks being one of them.

“Well…” Annie started saying but she was actually at a loss for words.

“What happened, Annie?” Britta asked her empathetically. “You know you can talk to us if you need to, we won’t tell a soul. Right, Shirley?”

Britta glared at Shirley like there was some silent agreement between them. Annie assumed they had probably talked about pulling Annie’s teeth out to get the truth.

“It’ll stay between us, of course.” Shirley asserted, even though it sounded unsure.

“Yeah, well, could we, um...” Annie stammered. “Could we have a walk first and I’ll tell you later over coffee or something?”

Annie felt relieved when Britta and Shirley didn’t add anything further and just nodded understandingly to her request. The three friends started walking in silence, wandering from shop to shop, sometimes trying some clothes on to have a laugh. At some point, Britta made a list of all the shops in the mall that were affiliated to brands exploiting children and hurting animals all around the world, therefore, they quickly ran out of shops to go into. When that happened, they sat down at a table in a coffee shop and ordered beverages. Eventually, Annie knew she couldn’t run away from the touchy subject she was trying to avoid and sighed, gathering her courage to speak.

“I feel terrible about ditching Jeff’s graduation.” Annie confessed bluntly to her friends.

When they understood they were about to find out what was going on with Annie, Britta and Shirley paid close attention to their friend, slowly sipping on their coffee like they were about to hear some juicy gossips.

“I just… I was hurt and confused and I didn’t know what to do, and I chose the worst possible outcome.” Annie kept on saying, her voice trembling.

“Well, technically, you haven’t ditched the graduation, you sat all the way through.” Britta pointed out, approved by Shirley’s nod.

“Yeah but you know what I mean… I left before the end, it’s like I wasn’t even here at all.” Annie retorted.

“Why’s that? Jeff told me he’s been trying to reach out since yesterday and you haven’t returned any of his calls. If someone had told me three years ago that Jeff Winger would be worried about a girl not calling him, I would have laughed my head off, to be honest.”

Annie bit her lower lip in nervousness. It was true, Jeff had sent multiple texts and called a few times the night before to ask Annie if they could talk and if everything was okay. After what she had witnessed in Michelle Slater’s office, Annie was worried Jeff would realize he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend, thus wanting to break up with her. He specifically said they had a conversation that made him sad at the ski resort, a conversation he didn’t mention to her, even kept as a secret, for that matter. For what other reason could it possibly be?

Even so, she hadn’t been able to miss Jeff’s graduation. She had thought about it. She was not sure she wanted to go over there, see Michelle being all proud of him and Jeff obviously bonding with her more than he ever did with Annie. She was sitting in the library when she had looked at her watch to check the time and see the graduation was about to begin. Annie had tried to ignore it, as hard as she could. But then, she was haunted by Jeff’s face, Jeff’s disappointed electrifying eyes, and suddenly, she wasn’t able to ignore it anymore. She had run to the study room and quickly sat down next to Shirley to listen to his speech. She had noticed how relieved and glad Jeff had looked. He was actually _happy_ to see Annie there. But then, as she had listened to him making a Winger speech about the power of Greendale changing people and how everyone meant something to him, her insecurities came rushing back and the room had suddenly become suffocating. Therefore, the moment Jeff had stopped talking, Annie had run outside to get some fresh air. She needed to. She needed to gather her thoughts and figure out why it all affected her this much.

And she knew very well why it affected her like this. She was just too afraid to admit it, because saying it out loud would make it real and considering what the situation looked like at the moment – Jeff graduating and having an ambiguous conversation with his ex – Annie was not totally positive about wanting to feel the way she felt. But after all, wasn’t it how _love_ worked?

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Britta eventually asked when she noticed Annie was not answering. “I mean, besides the video?”

“Well… Not really but –“

“You hesitated.” Shirley interrupted Annie. “That means something happened. Oh Lord, Jeffrey did break your heart, didn’t he? Not to be the one who says ‘I told you so’ but I knew it would happen eventu –“

“Shirley, what did we talk about earlier?” Britta scolded her.

“I just happened to walk by Slater’s office yesterday after the video drama and… Jeff was there, talking to her.” Annie briefly exclaimed with a lump in her throat. “And… he mentioned something about a conversation they had at the ski resort that he kept from me. So… You know. I assumed the worst.”

“Oh the little bastard.” Shirley said angrily. “I warned him not to hurt you, Annie, but I still had faith he wouldn’t do something that –“

“Damn, Winger’s an idiot, for sure, but Annie, trust me, I know what happened and you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” Britta interrupted Shirley.

Annie looked at her friend, incredulous. Jeff had told Britta about the Slater thing? So Jeff was confiding in everyone but his girlfriend? Now, she was sad, confused _and_ upset.

“Why hasn’t Jeff simply said something to me instead of talking to you about it?” Annie asked out loud bitterly.

“Because, like I said, he’s an idiot.” Britta smiled, shrugging. “He didn’t want to upset you for nothing, but I told him keeping something from someone was actually the best way to upset them. But you know, he’s stupid, so.”

“Can you get to the point, Britta?” Annie asked impatiently.

“Yeah I want to know what that teacher did with her voodoo magic on Jeffrey again.” Shirley asked in a curious tone, slowly drinking her coffee and staring at Britta.

“But that’s just the thing!” Britta exclaimed with a sarcastic laugh. “Her magic didn’t work on him because he rejected her.”

Annie stared at Britta, dumbfounded this time. Her questions raised even more questions and she didn’t know what she could stick to anymore.

“Annie, the conversation Jeff and Michelle were talking about was when we were both waiting for him to get your coats in the lobby.” Britta explained.

“Yeah, I kind of already figured that part out.” Annie pointed out between clenched teeth.

“He ran into her on the way to your hotel room and they started talking, and apparently, Michelle said something about having regrets and wondering if she should have pursued him when she asked him out back a few months ago, but then, Jeff said he had absolutely no regrets because… If they had stayed together, he would’ve never gotten with you in the first place.”

Annie’s heart started beating faster and suddenly, the confusion, the anger and the sadness slowly started fading away to leave room for… hope?

“Wh – what else did he say?” Annie asked shyly, feeling nervous.

“Well, he didn’t get into details when he told me but something about… being happy with you and feeling stupid to have waited this long to be with you.”

“Really? But… He also said something about… Being sad after that conversation.”

“I guess he was just sad because they were reminiscing about their relationship and finally getting some closure. But Annie, Jeff doesn’t want to be with Slater anymore. The only thing he was able to talk about with her was… _you_ , actually. He’s crazy about you.”

“That much is true.” Shirley approved. “The poor man keeps making googly eyes at you. Has been since way too long, actually.”

“I don’t understand…” Annie admitted out loud. “Why hasn’t Jeff said anything about this to me?”

“I agree that he acted like a jerk about the video, he should’ve talked about it with you instead of putting his head in the sand.” Britta told her. “So I think this is a conversation you need to have with him, not me. You need to hear it from him.”

“Hear what?”

“Well… That seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Even though it was stupid, I think he acted the way he did because he cares about you and… he loves you, Annie.”

***

When Annie got back from her shopping afternoon, she locked herself in her room in the apartment and stayed still for a few seconds, reflective. What Britta had told her kept on playing again and again in her head.

Annie gently sat down on her bed and looked around her, slowly. She spotted a pink paper on her desk and felt drawn to it. It was stupid, she had been strict about avoiding re-reading Jeff’s letter, but now that Britta had dropped the “L” bomb on her, Annie needed to connect with herself from three years before and figure out if she still felt the same way. She needed to understand her feelings and put some words onto them.

_Dear Jeff,_

_If I’m writing a letter to you right now, it’s because I’m feeling something for you. I’m not sure how to put it into words, but it’s something strong. Something intense. Something I started feeling after our kiss at the debate but now, it has only grown stronger and if I’m being honest, it scares me._

_If I kissed you last night, it’s because I wanted to, Jeff. You’ve taught me how to be more relaxed, how to live in the moment and go for what I want. I don’t really know why that is what I wanted tonight. I know I was supposed to leave with Vaughn. But I couldn’t. Something drew me back here. I didn’t know what exactly. But when I saw you last night, I had this overwhelming feeling I could not ignore._

_I know you were probably confused because of Britta and Professor Slater, but when you kissed me last night, I felt things I’ve never felt before in my life. You made me see the world with different colors. Brighter, more beautiful. And that, Jeff, is why it scares me. It scares me because it is the first time I’m feeling these things and I am not even sure they are reciprocated. I’m scared that you are not feeling the same way. And this is the reason why I’m writing a letter to you now. I need to pour my heart out before getting hurt._

_I don’t know how things will go when we’ll see each other, but what I do know is that I will not stop thinking about. About our kiss. About how it feels to be in your arms. About the possibility of an ‘us’. But I also know I can’t ask for too much or hope. So I’ll just dream about it and see if one day, one day soon, the dream becomes true._

_Sincerely yours Jeff Winger,_

_Annie._

Annie was shaking from the emotion when she stopped reading. What she wrote three years ago was not so different from what she felt to this day, after all. And what she felt was definitely strong and intense.

As she was putting the letter away with Rich’s and Troy’s, Annie flinched when she heard a knock on her door. She walked stealthily to open it and remained speechless at the sight of Jeff, smiling awkwardly at her.


	14. Love finals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, last chapter!!
> 
> As usual, I really want to thank all of you readers for your support, comments and kudos. It was very much appreciated and really encouraged me to write this story, so thank you. Especially, sincerely, thank you to the people over the Discord Community #fan-fic channel for being so supportive and nice. You guys were my true inspiration for it all.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy your reading and like this conclusion to the story :)

**_ Chapter 14: Love finals. _ **

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Annie and Jeff stood in front of one another after simultaneously greeting each other. Annie was certainly not expecting to see him on this early Friday evening, standing in her doorframe, looking expectantly at her.

“Um, wh – what are you doing here?” Annie asked, suddenly nervous.

“I… Um. You know what? I’m going to be honest with you here… I’ve missed you today and I was worried for you.”

Annie lowered her eyes to stare at her feet, embarrassed. She hadn’t returned any of his calls or texts for the last twenty-four hours, of course it would have gotten him worried. Suddenly, Annie felt bad about her childish behavior. Maybe she overreacted just a little…

“What’s going on, Annie?” Jeff asked when he noticed Annie wasn’t saying anything. “You’ve been ignoring me, you looked upset during the graduation ceremony, I… Seriously, I’m going crazy not hearing from you.”

Annie opened her mouth to start answering when she noticed two faces appearing discreetly from the Dreamatorium room, the door slightly opened for their heads to pop up. Annie squinted at Troy and Abed, who were obviously listening not so discreetly to their conversation.

“Maybe we should talk in here.” Annie told Jeff while stepping aside.

Jeff nodded and walked into Annie’s bedroom. She saw Abed and Troy pouting before glaring at them and slowly closing her door so that she and Jeff could have some privacy. When she turned around after the door was closed, he was standing still in front of her, apparently uncertain of what to do.

“Don’t stay like this, come sit with me.” Annie said softly.

She sat down on her bed, quickly mimicked by Jeff. Here they were, sitting next to each other on Annie’s bed, their backs straightened and both staring at the wall in front of them. Annie cleared her voice to cover the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them.

“I’m sorry about the way I reacted yesterday.” Jeff eventually said. “About the video.”

“And I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls and left your graduation early.” Annie added.

“I assume you’re mad at me because of how I reacted with the video.” Jeff sighed, sounding guilty.

“I’m not mad Jeff, I’m just… I was… sad.” Annie admitted with a lump in her throat.

“Look, if you want me to, I can find out who’s the idiot who published that stupid video and shove a lawsuit up his as –“

“It’s not that, Jeff.” Annie interrupted him before he became vulgar.

Annie turned her head to meet Jeff’s confused eyes. He visibly thought she was only upset because of the video, even though she absolutely didn’t care anymore about that.

“I… was walking by Michelle Slater’s office yesterday.” Annie kept saying. “When you were there.”

Annie saw Jeff raising his eyebrows at once in surprise. He was certainly not expecting that.

“Annie, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but clearly, you could tell that it was just a friendly and polite discussion. Right?” Jeff asked her.

“It’s not that you were talking to her, it was the… ski resort thing.” Annie simply said, trying to sound casual.

“Oh.” Jeff simply said, pursing his lips. “Okay, so… This is why you weren’t answering my calls? And this is why you left early today?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Annie shrugged. “I was upset and confused because when I asked you if something was wrong when we left the resort last week, you said nothing happened, and then, I overhear you mentioning a conversation you had with Michelle that made you sad and –“

“Annie, I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding, I feel like a complete idiot right now.” Jeff interrupted her by taking her hands in his.

Annie felt all her insecurities and worries vanish when her fingers intertwined with Jeff’s. She wanted to wait for his explanation but that simple touch was enough to make her negative emotions go away.

“I wasn’t hiding something from you or anything like that.” Jeff said while diving his eyes into Annie’s. “It’s just… I knew how you felt about Michelle and I didn’t want to ruin your weekend by getting you worried for nothing.”

“Okay but Jeff, in the end, you _did_ hide it from me, and it’s that kind of stuff that gets me worried.” Annie explained to him.

“Hence the fact that I feel like an idiot.” Jeff said with a light smile. “I reacted the wrong way and I understand it now. I’m sorry, I hate myself for making you sad.”

Annie’s lips managed to turn into a shy smile while Jeff was gently stroking her hands. Despite everything she had felt in the past twenty-four hours, she knew she would never be able to resent him.

“I’m also sorry for pushing you away when you tried to talk to me about the video.” Jeff added. “I was just… so mad that someone could that to us. To _you_.”

“Jeff, I really don’t care about what people think.” Annie assured him. ”Sure, it wasn’t funny to look at but really, I’m fine with it. My main concern was you, because… I know how you can get about what people think of you.”

“Well, I was basically compared to a thirsty vampire who’s a hundred years old and goes after a teenager, so obviously, that wasn’t pleasant.”

Annie chuckled lightly at Jeff’s sentence, which made him smile.

“I didn’t know you watched _Twilight_.” Annie admitted with a laugh.

“Oh I hadn’t.” Jeff contradicted. “Until yesterday. I watched it last night to understand what the fuss was about. I had a good laugh because let’s face it, that movie is cheesy as hell. And now I feel… Well, I’m not going to lie, that video hit me pretty hard, Annie.”

“I know.” Annie whispered empathetically. “I know. That’s why I was so worried for you.”

“But I don’t want you to worry for me, Annie.” Jeff confessed, eyes blurry. “That’s just the thing, you shouldn’t have to worry about me. You shouldn’t be the one to protect me, I should be there for you, strong for you, protecting you and with that stupid video, I failed y –“

“Jeff, what are you even saying?” Annie exclaimed, stunned. “Seriously, this is what you’re thinking? That you’re not allowed to feel sad or hurt? Jeff, this isn’t how a relationship works. You don’t have to bottle things up and protect me.”

“I just feel like I have to. I care about you so much Annie, I want you to be okay.”

“Then stop hiding things from me to protect me. Stop suffering alone to protect me. We’re both adults, we’re able to deal with our own feelings while still caring for the other. Okay? You can be here for me but I’m also here for you. And it’s totally normal. You need to let me in, Jeff. I love you and I want you to know you can trust me.”

Jeff suddenly looked awestruck and Annie frowned, wondering if she had said something wrong.

“Annie, you… You realize you just…” Jeff stammered, dumbfounded.

“I just what?” Annie asked, confused.

Then it struck Annie. She was incapable of moving or talking. Or thinking, for that matter. She realized she had just casually thrown into the middle of her Edison speech – if she could call it that way – that she _loved_ him. She had actually said the three little words that could rock someone’s world out loud. The three little words that she made sure to avoid for so long. And she didn’t even think twice before saying them. Like everything in her fake-then-not-fake relationship with Jeff since the beginning, it happened naturally, simply.

“Oh God, um…” Annie whispered, suddenly mortified. “I freaked you out, didn’t I? It’s too soon for the L word, I don’t know why it slipped out like th –“

Annie couldn’t finish her sentence because of Jeff’s lips crashing furiously against hers into a kiss. Surprised at first, she let herself go into that kiss and as Jeff’s hands were gently wrapping her face in them, she closed her eyes and kissed him back, feeling like the last twenty-four hours had just been a bad nightmare she had just woken up from.

A few seconds later, Annie parted from Jeff to look him in the eyes. It was the first time he was looking at her with such intensity and sweetness at the same time and it was both overwhelming and breathtaking.

“What was that for?” Annie asked shyly, smiling happily.

“I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to kiss the woman I… love.” Jeff answered after a beat.

If her eighteen years-old self could witness what was going on right now… She probably wouldn’t believe it, obviously. Annie’s smile widened even more, astounded but delighted that they finally took this big step in their relationship.

“About Michelle…” Jeff then said, making Annie come back to Earth. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have kept it from you, it was stupid of me. I can tell you right now what this conversation was about at the ski resort, if you want to.”

Annie nodded to approve and straightened a bit more, focusing entirely on Jeff, even though their kiss and his love declaration were all she was able to think about at the moment.

“When you and Britta were in the hotel’s lobby and I was walking to our room to get our coats, I ran into Michelle. We had a quick talk. She actually said she was glad for me because I looked happy with you.”

“She did??” Annie asked, surprised.

“She did.” Jeff confirmed. “And then, she said she had some regrets, that maybe she should have come back to me sooner, to which I told her that we honestly didn’t work together as a couple and that it was probably for the best, that we were better off as friends. She started feeling sad, then I felt sad because she felt sad… You know how this works. And then, I just grabbed our coats and met you and Britta downstairs.”

“So… You were sad because… You made Michelle sad?” Annie concluded, now seeing things clearer.

“Pretty much, yeah. I know I sound like a jerk most of the time but the truth is, I hate making people sad. Especially people I care about. I’m not a monster, after all.”

Annie pursed her lips and suddenly felt weird. She had been so quick to misjudge Jeff and think he would actually be capable of hurting her when, in fact, he was trying his hardest _not_ to hurt her. That was a very complex logic to follow but in the end, everything finally made sense again.

“Annie, I know this thing between us started as a way for you to avoid conflict with Troy and Britta, and as a way for me to avoid it with Michelle but… Now that everything seems settled for both counterparts, what do you want us to do now?” Jeff asked her.

“It’s not only my decision to make, Jeff.” Annie pointed out. “Remember what I said, like five minutes ago, about you letting me in?”

“Sure. And I’m going to right now – I want _us_ , Annie. Remember the Annie-of-it-all? I want in completely. Seeing you upset and avoiding me was very hard but it also made me realize how I truly felt about you. I’m ready now. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page and that you want the… Jeff-of-it-all too. Even though he can be pretty dumb sometimes.”

Annie chuckled lightly. Even in the most serious moments, Jeff couldn’t help but fool around a little. It certainly helped lighten the mood.

They locked eyes with each other again, and as Jeff was waiting for Annie’s answer, apparently nervously, she already knew exactly what she wanted to say.

***

Two weeks later.

It was the day before classes would start again at Greendale community college. Shirley had thought it would be nice to have a small gathering on Sunday afternoon to, on the one hand, “celebrate the day of the Lord”, obviously, and on the other hand, to enjoy their last day of holidays together. Abed had suggested they could do it at Apartment 303 and everyone had agreed right away.

As Annie was almost done setting the table in the living-room, helped out by Troy while Abed was mopping the floor, they heard a knock on the front door.

“Someone’s already here?” Annie asked, curious.

“Oh it’s probably Britta.” Troy said before going to open the door.

As Troy had anticipated, Britta was now standing in the doorframe, a bottle of red wine in her hand and a fine smile on her face. She walked into the apartment and hugged Annie before greeting Abed from afar. Annie and Britta walked to the kitchen to put Britta’s bottle on the counter and take the appetizers out of the fridge.

“So, ready to start our last semester ever?” Britta asked Annie while uncapping the bottle.

“Yes and no, I think.” Annie answered truthfully, putting some potato chips in a salad bowl. “I’m excited for some new classes but at the same time… It feels weird to think about leaving Greendale after everything we’ve been through, you know?”

“I feel you, sister.” Britta nodded, already pouring herself a glass of wine. “I feel weird about going back without Jeff, though. Don’t tell him I said that but he was pretty much the pillar of our study group. But really, don’t tell him, he’s already enough big headed as it is.”

Annie smiled lightly, a bit sad at the mention of Jeff not going back to Greendale with the rest of them. Thinking about his chair at the table being empty for the rest of the semester… It didn’t feel right and she didn’t want to think about it.

“So, I see things between you and Troy seem… better.” Annie then said, trying to change the subject.

“Ugh we are really not passing the Bechdel test these days, Annie.” Britta pointed out, rolling her eyes.

“The what now?” Annie wondered out loud, taken aback.

“You know, it’s the list that measures the representation of women in fiction, how they need to be more independent and talk to each other without having a guy at the center of their conversation.” Britta explained before taking a sip of her wine.

“I agree, you two are really not passing the Bechdel test.” Abed then said from the living-room.

“Abed, this is a private conversation!” Annie interjected.

Abed simply smirked and then lost interest in their conversation to clean his “room”, hiding it behind a sheet hanging on the walls. Annie sighed and focused back on Britta. Troy had put some music on, this way, their conversation would be more private and less likely to be eavesdropped by Annie’s curious roommates.

“Let’s just fail at this test one more time and then, we’ll stop talking about guys, if you want.” Annie told her. “I just want to know how you’re feeling, Britta.”

Annie noticed the way Britta’s confidence and contempt faded away as she understood what Annie truly meant.

“It’s sweet of you to worry but I’m okay, Annie.” Britta asserted with a weak smile. “Troy was right when he said we should break up. It wasn’t working out anymore and our friendship wasn’t deteriorated, even though we’ve seen each other naked and had feelings, so what more could I ask for?”

“It’s okay to feel sad after a break-up, Britta.” Annie insisted, saddened by her friend’s speech. “You know, there’s no expiration date on a heartbreak.”

Britta sighed and lowered her eyes to stare at her shoes. Annie took one step closer to be in front of her and took her hand in hers in a comforting gesture.

“I’ll be fine, Annie. I’m a strong independent woman.” Britta asserted, softly squeezing Annie’s hand.

“I know that, but even strong independent women are allowed to be sad.”

“Of course they are. That’s the whole point of being independent, they can feel whatever they want.”

Annie laughed at Britta’s teasing, to which Britta herself laughed. To think that only four months ago, Annie was terrified of losing Britta’s friendship because of the love letter Troy had received and now, Troy and Britta weren’t even together anymore and Annie’s friendship with Britta had only grown stronger. What were the odds?

“I have to say your letter really opened my eyes, too.”

Annie felt like she had just been struck by lightning. She looked at Britta in utter confusion, even though the latter kept on smiling.

“Wait, you… you _knew_?” Annie asked, shocked. “Since when?”

“Oh since pretty much a few days after Troy had gotten it.” Britta answered, shrugging. “You know, he’s not good at keeping things hidden. He does sleep in a bunk bed with his best friend in his twenties, after all.”

“I don’t understand, wh – why haven’t you said anything?”

“Because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, Annie. Besides, I figured out you probably wrote the letter when we started college a few years ago so what was the point in bringing it up?”

“So… You’re not mad at me?”

“Of course not. Why would I be mad? You pretty much had dibs on Troy from the beginning, I’m the one who came after him later.”

“I never had dibs on Troy, Britta. My feelings were never mutual.”

“You know what I mean. I wasn’t going to resent you for having feelings three years ago.”

“Okay, then… How did it open your eyes?” Annie asked, more confused than ever.

“Well, because… I could feel how you’d poured your heart out in that letter and it was so vivid and moving. And it made me realize… I never actually felt that way for him. For anyone, to be honest. Annie, the way you love people is heartfelt and wholesome. You should never be ashamed of that.”

Annie was so moved and touched at this moment that she almost felt like crying. All this time, Britta knew and she had never said anything to avoid making her uncomfortable. Their friendship had always been strong enough and Annie had failed to see it until this moment.

“Britta… I’m sorry if reading my letter made you question your relationship with Troy, I feel guilty about it now.” Annie confessed, lowering her eyes.

“Oh don’t, really. It’s not just the letter. We had our own issues. You know, we had argued just before the ski trip. I had spent most of the night drinking with my co-workers at the bar, which is why I arrived hammered on the actual trip.”

“Oh. I had no idea.”

“Yeah… Then, when we came back, we tried to patch things up but it was already too late. Anyway, I don’t want to dwell on the past, what’s done is done and I’m sure it’s only for better things to come.”

“What did you two argue about?”

“Um… You already said you were feeling guilty so I don’t want to top it off even more.” Britta said, wincing.

“Tell me.” Annie insisted, eyes widened in surprise.

What was she about to hear now? This whole conversation felt surreal to Annie.

“Well… I may have kind of said that… I was mad at him because he never took care of me the way… Jeff took care of you.” Britta confessed in a low voice.

Annie was completely and definitely flabbergasted. She resisted the urge to pinch herself and figure out if she was dreaming or not to focus on Britta’s story-telling.

“I just saw how happy you two looked together, and it made me wonder why Troy wasn’t the same way with me.” Britta kept on explaining. “So yeah, basically, Troy eventually said he cared about me a lot but… just as friends. So we ended things in good terms and now, as you can see, everything works out for the best.”

“It’s… Um. I had no idea you felt this way, Britta.”

“Yeah… Who would have thought Jeff being sensitive and caring with you would make me question Troy’s feelings for me? Tell that to our past selves from 2009, they would laugh at us, for sure.”

“Britta, I… Thank you for respecting my privacy about the letter and… and everything.”

“Of course. I got you, girl.”

Britta nudged Annie’s shoulder with her own in a friendly way and Annie didn’t wait another second before taking Britta into her arms and giving her a hug. Britta hugged her back and at the same moment, they heard someone coming into the kitchen and chuckling.

“Glad to see you’re finally embracing your lesbian feelings, Britta.”

“Ugh Pierce, do you always have to ruin wholesome moments??” Britta complained.

Annie laughed at Pierce and Britta’s bickering before taking the appetizers to the table in the living-room. Slowly, the rest of the group was coming to the apartment until they were all reunited. Before they sat down at the table, Annie excused herself and quickly walked to her bedroom to grab a little – big – bag of gifts she had collected for everyone, even though they all specifically said she didn’t have to. While she was looking for it in her closet, her eyes stumbled upon the heart-shaped box on the floor. Suddenly nostalgic, she looked at it for a while, her thoughts wandering. She was brought back to Earth when she heard footsteps behind her.

“We’re waiting for you to make a toast, Annie.”

“Coming right up, Abed.”

She turned around to face her friend, who was silently studying her. Abed was not the best at human interaction but now that she was living with him, Annie was able to read the room and sense when he wanted to say something but just was not able to figure out how to. It was definitely one of these moments.

“Is there anything else?” She asked him softly to encourage him.

“I just wanted to apologize.” Abed bluntly said. “I probably shouldn’t because I did it to help you but now, I can see that it’s caused you pain and that’s not what I wanted.”

“What are you talking about, Abed?” Annie asked him, frowning.

“The letters, of course.” Abed shrugged.

Annie’s eyes widened and even though she already had her assumptions from the beginning, she finally connected the dots in her head. Full circle, at last.

“I knew you sent the letters, Abed.” Annie retorted. “I suspected it from the beginning. You were the only one who saw the box.”

“I just wanted to keep it a mystery.” Abed started explaining. “It was a very good scenario material and I wanted to see how far it could go. And I did it without considering how you could feel about it, which is why I felt like I needed to apologize.”

“But why come clean now, Abed? You had months to tell me about it.”

“I didn’t want to ruin what was going on between you and Jeff. It was already fragile, considering it wasn’t an actual relationship, I had to let it blossom before saying anything.”

Annie could not help but roll her eyes and laugh at Abed’s confession. Of course, he had been the mastermind of it all from the beginning.

“You knew Jeff and I weren’t actually dating, didn’t you?” Annie suggested.

“Obviously. Jeff might be a good actor but you’re not so good at hiding your feelings, Annie.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. You don’t mind if I use your romantic story for my next movie, do you?”

Annie chuckled again. Abed truly was an incredibly unique person.

“Feel free to use it if you appreciated the content, Abed.” Annie told him.

“Of course I did. I knew from the minute you faked this relationship that it would develop feelings for both of you. That’s always how the fake-dating trope turns out. And even though it’s a much used trope, it never gets old and never disappoints.”

On that note, Abed left Annie’s room to go back with the others, which left Annie alone to think and wonder. A lot had happened in only ten minutes, between Britta’s confession about her knowing about the letter and Abed finally admitting he was the one who mailed her love letters. It truly felt like things would finally be different and some new chapter of her life was about to begin.

After reflecting for a few seconds, Annie eventually exited her room and met her friends. They all greeted her joyfully, especially one of them, next to whom she sat down.

“I heard we were about to make a toast?” Annie exclaimed while raising her glass.

Everyone nodded and instantly grabbed their glasses as well to lift them up.

“To another crazy year at Greendale ending, a new crazy year beginning and some new crazy memories to be made!” Britta said loudly.

They all made their glasses clink together and took a sip afterwards. Annie felt her hand being taken by someone else’s and immediately turned her head to her right to make eye-contact. She smiled right away, soothed.

“To us.” She whispered while raising her glass to the other person.

Annie’s heart warmed up when she saw Jeff raising his glass as well while simultaneously intertwining his fingers to hers.

“To us.” Jeff repeated before clinking his glass with Annie’s and immediately moving closer to give her a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand scene!
> 
> I already have a new project idea I'm going to be working on soon. (suspense suspense) You'll probably get to see it in a few days!


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